Good things come to those who wait
by unolimbo
Summary: KD Kel and Dom fall in love, go on adventures...insert standard back cover summary here. FINISHED, with extra chapter, like i promised! Check out the sequel, Time.
1. all dressed up and somewhere to go

Kel jogged up the hill to the palace, panting slightly, but still thoroughly enjoying herself. She glanced up the hill, and could see jump waiting for her. But he wasn't alone. There was a man sitting on the grass next to him, a man with jet black hair.  
  
"Dom, what are you doing?" Kel asked when she reached him.  
  
"I am simply keeping your dog company. Shame on you, leaving him all alone like this!"  
  
Kel smiled. "You're an idiot, Dom. And that's all I'll say, because I don't want you to try and attack me and then get hurt."  
  
He laughed, and tried to playfully attack her. She grabbed his arm and twisted it behind her back. Jump started growling at Dom, and he called it quits.  
  
"I'll see you later, Dom. I've got to go get changed. There is a ball tonight, and I can't go looking like this!"  
  
As she was walking away, she heard him shouting. "It's almost five hours away! Why are you going now?"  
  
She turned and jogged backwards. "Yuki will kill me if I don't! Besides! Some of us need to work on our looks, thank you very much!"  
  
Kel heard Dom laugh, and turned very red. Luckily, Dom was plenty far away. She turned forward again, and ran faster. Just as she reached the doors, she heard Dom yell something that sounded suspiciously like "you don't!"  
  
Four hours later, Yuki and Kel emerged from Kel's room looking beautiful. Lalasa was close behind. "Thank you, Lalasa! It's beautiful!" Kel said, looking down at her summer gown. "though I can't say I would get trouble from my friends for wearing pink."  
  
Yuki laughed. She knew Neal would think she was beautiful even if she wore a potato sack. But she wore a gown anyway.  
  
45 minutes later, Yuki left to meet her new husband, Neal. Kel was then left alone to fend for herself.  
  
She jumped as she felt a hand land on her shoulder. "Well, well, well! Pink! I daresay, the boys will have something to say about this!" She turned around.  
  
"Dom, if you say anything, I shall do the unthinkable to you!"  
  
"That might not be bad, what's the unthinkable?"  
  
Kel smiled. "I don't know yet, I haven't thought of it. Hey! There is pink in your tunic! There, in the embroidery on the bottom! You hypocrite!"  
  
Dom laughed. His blue eyes shone even brighter. "Okay, you got me. Shall we go in, before you berate me even more?"  
  
He put out his hand, and acted like a perfect gentleman. "By the way, Kel, you do look beautiful." He blushed as he said it. Kel blushed too.  
  
"Thank you, Dom."  
  
They sat down at a table in the back, far away from the noisy centre of the room. "I'm quite excited, Owen is coming back from his post, as is Merric and Neal. And don't even talk to me about why I'm not out there with them right now."  
  
Dom had just opened his mouth to ask, but he shut it firmly and smiled.  
  
"Fine, I'll tell you! Raoul insisted that I take time off. After defeating one of our greatest enemies and building two refugee camps, he said I needed some rest time."  
  
"Which you have used to exercise. Only you, Kel."  
  
They talked for a few minutes, until they noticed Neal and Yuki walk in. they both jumped up at the same time, Kel, to hug Neal, and Dom, to punch him.  
  
"Hey, a standing ovation! In your face, Lady Knight!"  
  
Kel's standing changed, and she decided to punch him as well.  
  
After the four talked for a little while, Merric, Owen, Raoul, and Buri came to sit with them. Soon, music started to play, and Raoul, Buri, Neal, and Yuki got up to dance.  
  
The four 'leftovers' sat at the table, watching. "Hey, Kel! Why aren't you dancing?" Owen asked.  
  
'Because, I can't leave you three alone! Besides, who would I dance with?"  
  
"Me?" A voice came from behind her. She spun around to see a large, red headed man grinning in front of her.  
  
"oh- Cleon.how nice." She said, obviously not happy to dance with him, thought he seemed the only one who didn't notice.  
  
"May I have this dance?" He held out his hand. Kel shrugged and went onto the dance floor. Cleon held her tightly, a little too tightly. She dind't want to get into anything too deep.  
  
"I've missed you, Kel. I was wondering if maybe, later, we could do something.alone."  
  
Kel gulped. "I don't think so, Cleon. I odn't want to start that again. I don't want to be a mistress."  
  
CLeon just smiled, which struck Kel as very strange. "Well, that's good, because you don't have to be! I don't have to get married! An old friend of my fathers died, leaving him more money than marrying would ever get me! We can wed now! We can be together!"  
  
He held her even more tightly. Kel felt like she was going to cry. No, this wasn't right, she didn't love him any more. But how? She decied to wing it.  
  
"Cleon, I odn't feel the same way I did two years ago. I'm sorry. I don't think I love you anymore. I'm sorry."  
  
She sighed and tried to pull away, thinking he would be shocked. 'Ha ha, Kel, love doesn't just die! It' still there, I know it is! Mine is still on the top of my mind, you have just buried yours!" Again, he held her tighter. Kel could barely breathe.  
  
Why was he so stupid? Why didn't he get it? She didn't love him anymore! She loved.  
  
"Excuse me, may I cut in?" Cleon didn't let go. Kel turned them around and found herself facing Dom.  
  
"Dom! Of course! Thank you Cleon, that was very nice."  
  
He looked pained. "no, Kel, stay. I think you should stay." He didn't loosen his grip.  
  
Dom looked angry, but not because he couldn't dance with Kel. "Sir, the lady would like to leave! You do not tell her she may not! You respect her wishes, and let her dance with whom ever she wishes!"  
  
Cleon loosened his grip, and Kel pushed herself away, into Dom's arms. She looked behind her, and saw Cleon skulking away and out of the hall.  
  
"Thank you." Kel whispered. She felt a tear run down her cheek.  
  
"Kel, what's wrong? I know it's more than just a dance."  
  
She looked up into his shining, blue eyes. They looked worried. "Come outside." Was all she said.  
  
A few minutes later, Kel finished her story as they sat on a small stone bench in the court yard.  
  
"And he said I still have feelings, they are just hidden underneath. But it's not true. I hate him now. I mean truly hate. I didn't think I could ever hate one of my close friends, but he alienated everyone, even after we broke up, he still paid no attention to his friends. I thought it was horrible. I would never stop talking to my friends for a boy. It's just not right." She looked up. Dom was smiling. "And I'm rambling, it just seems so mean, and I feel he got what he deserved and-"  
  
She was stopped by Dom. His lips were on hers. They were warm and soft, and as he put his hand on her face, she felt different. Different than she had a minute ago, different than she had when Cleon had first kissed her, different than she had ever felt in her entire life.  
  
Slowly, Dom pulled away slightly, his hand still touching her face. "I'm sorry." He blushed. "I had to shut you up. You just kept going and going, and I shouldn't have done that. I took advantage of you there, and now I feel horrible. I'm sorry Kel."  
  
But she did the same to him. She shut him up with a kiss. Not only did Dom put a hand to her face, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She shivered. His body was so warm. They pulled away from each other.  
  
"Thank you for helping me." Kel whispered. Another tear ran down her cheek. Dom wiped it away.  
  
"Come on, Kel. You're tired, and it's late. I'll take you to you room, okay?"  
  
She nodded. They decided to take the long, outdoor route to avoid questions from the others. Dom held her hand, and when she shivered in the early autumn breeze, he put his arm around her.  
  
After what seemed like too short a time, they arrived at Kel's door. 'Thank you, again, Dom." Kel leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. "Good night."  
  
Dom was left standing in front of a closed door, his hand still raised in a small wave. He turned away, shaking his head, chuckling. "Why didn't I notice that sooner?" he thought, hoping Kel would feel the same way the next morning, in her less weakened state.  
  
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Well, that's my first tp fic. It just seems so much harder! Ther are more important characters than the other stuff I've done, and it's harder to incorporate new ones in. there is so much history!!!!  
  
Please review, I think ithis might actually be good, but if no one reviews, it won't happen!! -unolimbo 


	2. kel and dom

The next morning, Kel woke up late. Bloody hell, she thought, as she threw herself out of bed, and ran down to the practice courts.  
  
"Yuki, I'm sorry! I overslept! I'm ready!"  
  
She ran right u to the fence, and noticed that Yuki was not alone. In fact, there was quite a crowd. Neal, Merric, Owen, and Dom all stood at the fence, watching Yuki go through her patterns.  
  
"Good morning, Kel." Yuki said, finishing her pattern. Soon, the two of them were dancing around the ring, attacking each other, dodging the flying metal of the glaives.  
  
Finally, Kel succeeded. If they had not been using their practice glaives, Yuki would not be in such great shape. "I would just like to say that you do this in battle, which makes you better, so it's not really fair!"  
  
Kel smiled. "Ah, but you have been doing it for longer, and you get to practice more often."  
  
Just then, she heard applause. "Wahoo! Yeah Kel! Beat her up!" Neal was jumping up and down. Yuki shot him a look. "Sorry, honey, but they dared me! A knight cannot pass up a challenge!"  
  
Everyone laughed, and Kel heard her stomach growl. "I'm going on a search for some food. Anyone want to join me?"  
  
"Sorry, Kel, I've got to go wash up. I'm covered in dirt now!" She walked away, with Neal walking beside her, trying to apologize.  
  
"Owen and I were just on our way to go riding, we just stopped to watch." Merric said, signaling Owen to follow along. "Um, yeah, we were just heading out. . ." they both ran away. Kel was left with Dom.  
  
"What about you?" she asked.  
  
Dom looked at her, his gorgeous blue eyes piercing hers. "Sure. Let's go." Kel didn't understand why he had looked at her like that. Maybe she had just imagined it.  
  
They walked up to the palace together. They tried to talk about things, but they kept falling back into silence.  
  
"Look, Kel," Dom started. "Are you alright?"  
  
She shrugged. "Sure."  
  
They walked in silence again. "Kel, I want to apologize." Dom said, breaking the silence. "I shouldn't have done that last night. You were tired and upset, and it was cruel of me to," he stumbled on his words. " force myself onto you like that."  
  
He looked into her eyes again, not knowing what to expect. "It's fine. I do like you. I wold have let you do that even if I wasn't upset and tired." She smiled, blushing immensely. Dom blushed too.  
  
They spent the rest of the walk chatting like the old friends they were.  
  
A few hours later, after a ride in the woods on Peachblossom, Kel stood in the stall grooming her horse. "Kel!" She heard Raoul say. She turned around.  
  
"Hello, my lord."  
  
Raoul flinched, and Kel laughed. He just wanted her to call him Raoul. "just so you know, I don't want you stealing my best sergeant away from me, is that clear?"  
  
He was making fun of her. "Right. That's on my list. 'number three: steal sergeant from Raoul.'"  
  
"I'm only the third on the list?" She heard a voice. She glanced behind her, and saw Dom. She turned back to Raoul, just in time to see him wave and walk away.  
  
"Oh yes, number one is groom my horse, and number two is get good presents this midwinter." She grinned, but kept brushing Peachblossom.  
  
Dom, it seemed, got a little to close to the geldings mouth, and suffered a nip on his arm. "Ouch!" He cried. "Neal is right! That horse is evil!" Kel laughed.  
  
Just at that moment, Peachblossom shifted his weight, throwing Kel, who was leaning on him, into Dom.  
  
"oof! Sorry, Dom." She said, standing up again. She was very close to Dom now, so close she could see every line on his face, every individual hair on his head. . .  
  
she leaned towards him, and felt his lips against hers. They stood there for a moment, Kel in Dom's arms, holding him back, kissing. Finally, they let go. Kel blushed and smiled. She threw her brushes in the box, waved to Dom, and jogged back up to the castle, leaving Dom to get a sharp bite in his left arm.  
  
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I don't own anything. It all belongs to the lovely and brilliant Tamora Pierce.  
  
theres chapter 2. sorry they're so short, I still don't know whats going to happen in this story. I want to do something with Cleon, but I won't tell you what!  
  
Please review, I really, really, really want reviews!  
  
-unolimbo 


	3. authors note

I'm really sorry, but I'm having writers block on this story, and I've got my exams next week, so I don't have time to think about it. I will definitely update over Christmas break, don't worry. It just needs some serious thought. By the way, I have a question that will give away a lot of my story, but I really need help.  
  
How can I have Kel get raped by Cleon without looking like she is weak? I read one story where she does, but I don't want to steal someone else's work without permission. Snow*Flake, where do you come up with such FRICKIN GOOD IDEAS?????  
  
Excuse me.  
  
Anyway, please, please, please help me, people! I can't keep writing without help! You can email any ideas you have to unolimbo@hotmail.com, or just put them in a review. I don't care. Do either.  
  
Thanks, unolimbo 


	4. Fhire

Okay, here's chapter 3. . . sorry if its not very good, and it won't be long! Thanks to Fhire for the character! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kel walked back to her rooms, not paying attention to her surroundings while she went. She almost bumped into a girl, about fourteen, in a pages uniform. (a/n don't forget, pages train at the palace!) As she dodged out of the way, she noticed it.  
  
"Excuse me! You, the page!" She felt stupid saying it, but she wanted her attention. It worked, the girl turned around. "What's your name?"  
  
The girl looked down. "Fhire, Mi'lady."  
  
Kel sighed. "You are a page, I presume?" the girl nodded. "Year?"  
  
"Fourth."  
  
Kel almost blew up. She stormed down the hallway, leaving the girl standing there, confused.  
  
She marched straight to Raoul's rooms, and banged loudly on the door. She heard a muffled voice saying "coming, coming!"  
  
Raoul opened the door. "Why didn't you tell me there was a girl page?" she asked before he could greet her.  
  
Raoul laughed. "I was wondering how long it would take you! She came only a little while after you left. I was afraid I was going to have to tell you before she became a squire."  
  
Kel's face went red. She'd never taken a squire before; it was only her fifth year as a knight (a/n correct me if I'm wrong), and she'd been away from the palace for so long.  
  
"When does she need a knight by?" Kel asked, making sure she had time to think about it.  
  
"Next Tuesday." Raoul answered, still laughing at her.  
  
She turned on her heel, and marched back down to the practice courts, where she'd seen the girl heading. Her guess was right, and she could see someone tilting, her (can't remember the name, is it lance?) sliding perfectly into a small ring. Kel watched her do it a few times, never missing.  
  
Kel clapped, and the girls head spun around. She slid off her horse and walked towards Kel.  
  
"You are Fhire, the girl I talked to earlier?" Kel asked, trying her best to sound professional.  
  
The girl nodded. "I'm Kel, by the way. Some people will tell you I'm Keladry of Mindelan, but I'm really just Kel. Nothing else."  
  
She smiled, but the girl didn't say anything. Kel felt a little uncomfortable with that. Was the girl nevous, or did she think she had to act that way? Kel could remember the way she first acted around Raoul.  
  
"Have you received many offers from knights yet? By the way, you are allowed to talk."  
  
The girl smiled and pulled off her helmet. Kel could see the relief on her face. "None yet, Mi'lady."  
  
"Kel."  
  
"Kel."  
  
They both laughed. "How would you like to be my squire? The work will be hard, I have a feeling I'll be going back to New Hope soon."  
  
The girl nodded quickly, her face bright with excitement, her bright brown eyes looking truly happy.  
  
Kel talked with her for a few minutes about New Hope and everything Kel had done since she became a knight.  
  
Afterwards, Kel invited Fhire to a practice joust to test their skill. She only got her to do it when she mentioned how long it had been since her last tilt.  
  
As they got into the ring on their horses, Kel mentioned something. "I forgot to mention, I joust with a weighted lance, so it might be a little powerful."  
  
For the first time, Fhire looked scared. Kel just smiled.  
  
They tilted. On their first try, Kel almost got Fhire off her horse, but not quite. The second, Fhire almost got Kel off her horse. Kel heard whooping coming from behind her. Dom, Neal, and Raoul were all watching, and they were rooting for Fhire.  
  
On the third try, Kel knocked Fhire off her horse. They decided to call it quits after that.  
  
"I'll see you soon, Fhire." Kel said, turning to lead Peachblossom into the stables.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kel heard footsteps behind her as she brushed Peachblossom's coat. Dom walked up to her, keeping a considerable distance from Peachblossom.  
  
"Who was that you were tilting with?" He asked casually.  
  
"Her names Fhire, and she's a female page! And no one told me about it! Can you believe it?" Kel looked at Dom. He was smiling, but his eyes were darting around. "Dom," she said slowly. "Do you know something about this?"  
  
He jumped around a bit. "I might have seen her a few times last time I was here, but. . ."  
  
Kel jumped on him, pushing him into a bale of hay. She was just about to punch him, when he kissed her.  
  
She decided not to punch him. "That's cheating!" She laughed.  
  
"All's fair in love and war, Lady Knight, and this is definitely war!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Okay, I'm really sorry this took so long!  
  
I would like to thank Fhire, for her wonderful character that she didn't describe the physical features of so I get to do that (yay!), and thanks you all my seventeen reviewers!  
  
I think I might screw up names, places, things like that. I am moving right now, and I can't get to any of my books. And even if I could, I would probably be too lazy to! Anyway, if I've screwed up so horribly that you can't understand who the hell it is supposed to be, just email me, and I will tell you, if I can.  
  
This all belongs to the incredibly entertaining Tamora Pierce!  
  
"Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. Then you'll be a mile from them, and you'll have their shoes."  
  
-unolimbo 


	5. events in Kel's bedroom not that way, yo...

Kel sat in her bed, thinking. She didn't know how she felt. Dom was so handsome, but she had told herself she didn't care about that. But it wasn't only the way he looked. He was so nice to her. He really seemed to care about her. He didn't just kiss her because he liked her, or it, he kissed her because it meant something.  
  
Or so Kel hoped.  
  
She looked outside. The sun was inching higher and higher in the sky. It must have been at least nine o'clock. Kel sighed as she dragged herself out of bed. "Another day, another problem." She said to herself. She just wondered what today's would be.  
  
Just as she was pulling her hair into a ponytail, there was a knock at the door. Kel walked over and opened it. Neal was standing there.  
  
"Morning." Kel said.  
  
"Kel! Do you know what time it is? It's almost 11! I've been looking for you for almost an hour!"  
  
Kel saw that something was wrong. "What is it?" She asked quickly.  
  
Neal looked confused. "It? There is no it. I just wanted to know why you slept in so late."  
  
Kel just closed the door, rolling her eyes, which didn't seem to go over too well with Neal.  
  
A muffled voice could be heard through the door. "Hey! What if there was something wrong! Kel, let me in! I'm your best friend! You can't do this to me!" Kel listened to him bang for a few minutes, and as soon as it calmed down a bit, she opened the door.  
  
Neal landed, face down, on the floor in front of her. "Ouch. I was leaning on that, you know."  
  
But Kel was laughing too hard to answer. "AAH!!!!" Kel heard, as her eyes were closed, she was laughing so hard.  
  
She looked up. Dom was standing on Neal. "Kel! What a lovely new rug you've got! I must say though, I thought you had better taste than this. It's very strange looking."  
  
Kel laughed even harder, sitting down on her bed, trying to breathe. Just then, Neal pushed Dom off him. He ended up on top of Kel.  
  
"Ha! Who's laughing now?" Neal cried out triumphantly.  
  
"It appears Kel isn't finished yet." Dom said, pushing himself up.  
  
Kel was still laughing. Neal looked angry, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.  
  
After a few minutes, Kel calmed herself down a bit.  
  
Dom looked at her. "I'm sorry, Dom. You didn't see the look on his face. It was priceless." Kel said.  
  
He didn't answer. He just kissed her. Kel smiled. You're going to make me laugh again, aren't you." Kel said quietly.  
  
"Damn right."  
  
With that, he tickled her. She kicked him, but he dodged it.  
  
"Keladry! You're not doing too well! Get your act together."  
  
Kel kicked him again, and this time, her aim was true. Her foot made contact with his stomach. He landed on the floor, winded.  
  
"Sorry!" Kel said.  
  
He smiled, and sat down on the bed beside her. He took her hand, and kissed it. "I love you, Lady Knight."  
  
Kel smiled back. She had decided. Se loved him back. Being alone with him didn't automatically mean kissing, like it had with Cleon; he still wanted to be her friend.  
  
"I love you, too." She said softly.  
  
"Kel, are we going to tell anyone about this? Or am I not allowed to treat you like a girlfriend in public?" Dom asked.  
  
Kel looked into his eyes. He was serious. He didn't want to be a backstage lover. He didn't want to be a secret.  
  
"I will tell them. I just hadn't yet because I didn't really know if I wanted this. But now I'm sure, I do. "  
  
Dom kissed her again. "There's a ball tonight. Will you come as my date?"  
  
Kel was puzzled. "Another? Why so soon?"  
  
Dom shrugged. "I think there is some diplomat, from the Yamani Islands, or something. So will you be my date?"  
  
Kel nodded. "Gosh, it's lunchtime! I haven't been out of my room yet today!" Kel said, her stomach growling. "I bet you can't keep up with me." She added, pushing Dom over and running out of the room. She could hear him following her, but she didn't turn back.  
  
She reached the Mess Hall with Dom right at her tail. She stopped abruptly, which Dom didn't anticipate. He almost knocked her over.  
  
They caught their breath and walked in. Kel immediately tried to turn around and leave again. Cleon was waving to her, signaling that she should sit with him.  
  
Dom caught her before she could get away. "He'll figure it out. Look, there's Neal and Merric. Sit with them. Okay?"  
  
Kel nodded, not wanting to need to deal with Cleon. She got her food, and turned to the table Neal and Merric were at.  
  
"Kel!" She sighed. Cleon was calling her, she couldn't pretend she hadn't noticed.  
  
"I'll come sit with you." Dom said, and they walked over. There was only one chair left. Cleon was sitting beside a knight from Cleon's year that Kel didn't know well.  
  
"Oh, there's not enough seats! I can't make Dom sit on his own, you understand, don't you, Cleon?" Kel said sweetly, suppressing a grin.  
  
"I'm fine, really, Kel." Dom said, also trying not to grin.  
  
"Nonsense! I'll sit with you! I'll talk to you later, Cleon." She said, turning around, letting the grin come out, now that Cleon couldn't see it. She distinctly heard on of the knights at the table. "Burned." He said. Kel grinned even more.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kel went out for practice and a ride for an hour, but quickly went back to her rooms to get ready for the ball. Just as she opened her door, she realized she needed help.  
  
She ran down the hall and knocked on Yuki's door.  
  
Yuki opened it, and Kel noticed Neal sitting in a chair. She smiled. "Yuki, there's a ball tonight, I need your help!"  
  
Yuki cocked her head quizzically.  
  
"I have a date." Kel said, blushing. Yuki's face brightened.  
  
"Let's go! Bye, dear! I'll see you tonight!" She said, running out the door.  
  
Kel stuck her head in the doorway before she closed the door. "Don't ask, you'll find out soon enough." She said to Neal's open mouth.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yeah! more chapters!  
  
Fhire: thanks so much for the character!  
  
Molly: I didn't borrow a character, she asked me 2 use it. And I don't look at as 'fire', as I'm sure you do. I see it as more of a 'fear' or 'fir' thing. Yes, I realize they are still nouns, but that never even occurred to me until you said that. I don't think it is a symbol of unoriginality, it's just a word or name a person likes. And what do you mean, baby name books? That's where she gets the names?  
  
And to all the people who responded to my plea: so many people said they didn't like the idea, and I decided that, after looking at the ideas (which were all very good, but not the kind of thing I was looking for), I would take it out of the story. I am going to write a story with it, it's going to be a sort of 'aftermath' thing, and it's not even going to say how it happens. Its going to start off horribly, but, hey, it's fan fiction, the rest of the story is actually pretty good!  
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it really helps!  
  
-unolimbo 


	6. First test of dating skills!

Kel ran down the hall to catch up with Yuki.  
  
"Kel!" She heard Neal yell, "Wait! Tell me!"  
  
She ran through the door Yuki held open. Just as he reached the door, Yuki held up her hand. "Nothing doing. You can come in after she gets the dress on." She closed the door.  
  
"But what else is there?" Kel heard Neal ask through the door.  
  
Half an hour later, they had gone through all of Kel's dresses and decided on a long sleeved green one, with lace trim and a low neckline.  
  
"Don't you think this is a little much?" Kel asked, as she looked at her chest.  
  
Yuki rolled her eyes. "You have a date. You want to look beautiful, and while you don't need your breasts to be beautiful, they do help."  
  
Kel couldn't help but laugh. Yuki really had lost most of her Yamani ways.  
  
After a little pinching and pulling of the dress, they let Neal in. he came very close to repeating what he had done that morning, but he caught himself just in time. He sat down in one chair, while Kel sat in the other as Yuki did her hair.  
  
"So, who's the lucky guy?" Neal asked, grinning.  
  
"Not telling. You must guess, oh impatient one!" Kel shook her head, which merited a tug on her hair from Yuki.  
  
Neal tapped his feet. "Hints! Do I know him?"  
  
Kel just smiled. She was determined not to give it away. She would give him one more hint, and that would be it.  
  
"You would approve of him. Definitely approvable. Although, maybe not. . ." She knew what he would say to her dating his cousin.  
  
He practically blew up. "WHAT? I MIGHT NOT APPROVE? WHY?"  
  
Kel laughed. Yuki, who was just pulling loose bits of hair up, decided to ask too.  
  
Kel just shook her head again. "You'll both find out. If you guess him, maybe I'll tell you."  
  
"Dom?" Yuki said instantly. Kel opened her mouth in mock shock.  
  
"Why would that be the first thing out of your mouth?" She said, laughing.  
  
Yuki shrugged.  
  
"Because he likes you. And you like him." Neal finished for her. Kel sat back and let Yuki finish, thinking about it.  
  
"Kel, do you realize this will be your first date?" Neal said.  
  
Kel looked at him. "How did you figure that out?"  
  
He grinned. "I've been your best friend since you were ten; I know everything you've done. And I doubt very much that you were dating when you were nine."  
  
Knowing Yukio had stepped back to examine her work, Kel let her head fall back. "Neal is right," she thought, as Yuki pulled her head up again and started on her makeup. "I've never been on a date. This is my first. . ."  
  
"You still haven't said, were we right? Is it Dom?" Yuki asked calmly.  
  
Kel bit her lip, which made Yuki giggle, and Neal jumped up. "What? Kel, that's. . .well, that's kind of weird." He said sheepishly.  
  
Kel put her hands on her hips. "And why might that be?"  
  
Neal shrugged and sat down again, his hands in his pockets. "I dunno. It's just, my best friend dating my cousin. It's something I never expected."  
  
"That's strange," Yuki said. "You three seem to be the only ones who didn't!"  
  
Kel turned red. Was Yuki serious? Did everyone know?  
  
Yuki stood back again. "There, you're done. You look beautiful. Kel stood up. It was true, she did look beautiful. Her hair, which had grown out to her shoulders, was pulled up loosely, and the bits left hanging down had been curled. Her dress was such a green that her eyes and skin seemed to glow, and she poked out a foot to look at the beautiful grey slipper on it.  
  
She smiled and gave Yuki a hug. "Thank you," she said. "but now you have less than an hour to get ready! What will you do?"  
  
Yuki shrugged. "I have no one to impress."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Except you, dear."  
  
Kel laughed, and ushered them out of the room, so that they could get ready. She sat down again, wondering what she would do for an hour. She realized that Yuki had forgotten about jewellery, rummaged through a small box she had, looking for earrings and a pendant that would match her dress.  
  
Just as she was putting on a pendant of a small bronze griffin with red eyes, there was a knock at the door. She pulled it open, and put her hands back up to her neck, trying to get the clasp to open.  
  
"Hello, Kel, you look beautiful." Cleon was standing in front of her. She closed her eyes. "Goddess, give me strength." She thought.  
  
"Cleon. Wonderful to see you." She forced a weak smile. "What can I do for you?"  
  
He smiled broadly, and Kel remembered how him smiling used to make her feel. "I notice you are all dressed up, so I'm guessing yoou know about the ball. I thought you could be my date."  
  
Kel sighed. "I'm sorry Cleon, but I have a date. I told you, I don't feel that way about you anymore. I am seeing someone, and we are really good friends. I'm sorry. Maybe you should go."  
  
She got the clasp done up, and lowered her hands. Cleon grabbed them. "Kel, please. Think of what we had, what we have. We love each other, you need to make a decision. I love you."  
  
Kel was astonished. Hadn't he listened to her? "Cleon, I told you. I am seeing someone, and he loves me. And I love him. I don't feel that way anymore!" She closed the door.  
  
Forty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Kel opened it gracefully, grinning. Her grin flickered. Cleon was standing there again, this time, dressed for a ball.  
  
"Kel, please, give me another chance. We can make it work, we have the strength. We can work to make it what it was."  
  
Kel shook her head, but felt guilty. He really wasn't dropping it, he must feel really strongly.  
  
"I don't want it to be like it was. I don't want a relationship where I can't talk, or do anything in private except kiss. And I don't want to work for it. I have a relationship, and I don't want to work for one that died a long time ago."  
  
Kel was getting tired of these sincere, emotional explanations. She just wanted to go to a ball with the man she loved, and have fun with him.  
  
She closed the door again. She heard him walk away, and soon heard another knock on the door. This time, when she opened it, she sighed in relief.  
  
"Well, someone's happy to see me!" Dom said, grinning.  
  
Kel smiled weakly. "I'm sorry. Cleon was here, and he kept insisting we could make it work. I told him a hundred times, I didn't want anything."  
  
Dom nodded, knowing Kel didn't want to talk about it. He held out his arm, which Kel took, and they walked down to the ballroom.  
  
They found Neal and Yuki sitting at a table near the dance floor, grinning at them. Kel blushed.  
  
"Stop that!" Dom said. "There's nothing embarrassing here, even if it is your first date."  
  
Kel opened her mouth and looked up at him. He was grinning, and Kel could see a slight pink tinge in his cheeks, which she chose to ignore. He pointed at Neal.  
  
She shook her head, laughing, and sat down. Merric, Owen, and the girls they had brought sat down with them. Neither Merric nor Owen seemed to realize that by sitting next to each other, Kel and Dom were dating. Neal found this immensely funny.  
  
After they had eaten, Kel and Dom got up to dance. Kel put her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder. They danced like that for a little while.  
  
"Kel," he said quietly, in all seriousness, "I didn't say before, but you look beautiful."  
  
Kel smiled. "Thank you."  
  
She looked up into his eyes. They seemed to be trying to take all of her in, and she knew hers looked the same way. She felt herself leaning closer. . . closer. . . she felt his lips, and her arms tightened slightly around his neck. He wrapped his arms a little farther around her waist.  
  
Just then, a large amount of whooping and clapping could be heard from their table, and soon from various places around the room. They pulled away, both of them grinning foolishly, and blushing hugely. Neither of them moved farther away from the other.  
  
They danced some more, both of them getting glances from Neal that seemed to say "Go on! Go for it!"  
  
After what seemed like no time at all, Dom was walking Kel back to her rooms. Kel held his hand, not wanting to part for the night.  
  
All too soon, they were in front of her door. She turned her key and opened the door, but turned around before she went in.  
  
"Dom, I want to thank you. Tonight was wonderful, and I don't think I've ever had so much fun wearing a dress." She kissed him softly. "Now, I have to figure out how to get it off. . ."  
  
"I can help with that!" Dom said jokingly, but he closed the door and walked away before Kel could punch him.  
  
The next morning, Kel woke up feeling happier than she had in a long time. Jump was leaping on her, and the sparrows were pecking her for food.  
  
She got out of bed, promising herself she was going to practice more today than she had the day before.  
  
She really was happy, and was excited for what would come next, until it came.  
  
Kel was going back to New Hope.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
BWA HA HA!  
  
I am so evil! Huzzah for cliff hangers.  
  
QueenofConnaught: Sorry, but I haven't read the Daine series, so I don't read the fictions, because I would have no idea what the freak is going on! But thanks for the review.  
  
Fhire: I'm glad you like it. And your email made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Where are you from? Do you speak a different strain of English, or something? I mean, what the hell was that? No, I'm just kidding. But I really didn't understand the email. And I realize you wanted her to be a younger page, but I wanted a squire. If you have a problem with that, tell me, and I'll change the character. I just don't have a place in this story for a younger page. Sorry!  
  
Everyone else: it will have a bit of action soon, I promise. I just need to get her to New Hope, then some conflict will come in. and some Fhire!  
  
I own nothing, not even the fan fiction character!  
  
Thanks to all,  
  
-unolimbo 


	7. Travel chats

Kel stood in the throne room (A/N I don't know where they would have these meetings) with a few of the other knights and the king.  
  
"There have been problems at the Scanran border." The King said, "We need to send more men out, and all the knights here in this room need to get out there. We also need people at refugee camps. They are being raided almost daily now. Kel, you are going back to New Hope, and you will command a unit of the King's Own, and three units of soldiers. That's forty men, plus the twenty-five men there and the refugees, which, I'm told, you trained very well. am I correct?"  
  
Kel nodded slowly. "For how long, your majesty?" She asked.  
  
"Until this war is over."  
  
Kel walked back to her rooms to pack, trying to keep herself from crying. "Stupid." She muttered, "I should be glad to be going to war. I've been complaining for such a long time that we're all here."  
  
"Talking to yourself, Kel? Very nice." Dom walked in. Kel attempted a weak smile.  
  
"I'm going back to New Hope."  
  
Dom nodded. "I know. So am I."  
  
Kel almost screamed. Dom was coming? Perfect! She'd be there until the end of the war, and Dom would be there too!  
  
Dom smiled. "It's good to know I'm appreciated." He kissed her. "By the way, you're damn lucky I asked you to the ball."  
  
Kel looked at him, puzzled.  
  
"I think Raoul chose my squad for a specific reason. In fact, I know he did. To quote the great Sir Raoul: You hurt her, and you're coming right back home."  
  
Kel laughed, and shooed him out of the room so she could finish packing.  
  
Just at that moment, she realized something. She had a squire. "Bloody hell." She muttered. "How could I forget about her?"  
  
She ran down the stairs to the pages hallway. She quickly walked through, looking for Fhire's name. It was the last door. She knocked. No answer. She took the piece of chalk beside the door and scribbled a note on the slate:  
  
We're leaving tomorrow, pack for a long trip to the Scanran border. Any questions, see me in my rooms. -Kel  
  
She jogged back to her room to finish packing.  
  
The next morning, Kel woke before dawn, and washed up. "Last real bath for a long time." She said to Jump.  
  
She went downstairs to the pages quarter to wake up Fhire. She knocked on the door, and a moment later, a very sleepy looking girl opened it cautiously.  
  
"Morning! Are you finished packing? We need to get some food into you before we go!"  
  
Fhire cocked her head. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Kel was shocked. "Didn't you get my message? We're leaving today! For the Scanran border! We're going to the refugee camp I built, New Hope."  
  
Fhire's eyes grew wide. She obviously didn't know about their trip.  
  
"You aren't very popular with some of the boys, are you?" Kel asked.  
  
Fhire shook her head.  
  
"Fine." Kel sighed. "You pack your things, I'll bring you up some food and your gear from the stables, alright?"  
  
Again, Fhire nodded.  
  
Kel turned back to Fhire as she was leaving. "And don't forget, I did say you were allowed to speak. You don't just have to nod." She said, grinning. Fhire grinned too, and they both turned away.  
  
Half an hour later, they were both fed and packed, and they brought Fhire's packs down to the horses.  
  
"What's that for?" Kel pointed to a small wicker basket.  
  
Fhire opened it. Inside was a tiny furry thing rolled up on a small blanket.  
  
"Her name's Triaxx. She's a wolf, only two months old."  
  
Kel looked worried. "She's not going to attack the animals at the camp, is she? I've heard that wolves can be pretty hard to deal with."  
  
Fhire grinned. "Daine helped me out after I found her. She talked to her almost everyday for the first few weeks I had her, she says that Triaxx is a very sweet tempered wolf, and she will easily listen to all of my commands."  
  
Kel grinned too, and closed the basket.  
  
"We're not that late, only about fifteen minutes, but we should still hurry. Raoul will get angry." They quickly saddled their horses and set walked them out of the barn.  
  
"Kel! Gods, where were you?" Neal ran up behind them.  
  
Kel rolled her eyes. "You were on time? Well, that just makes me feel horrible, keeping you waiting."  
  
Neal shrugged. "Whatever, just hurry up."  
  
Finally, they set off. Kel rode beside Fhire, at the back, explaining everything about what she did.  
  
"So, I am going to be commander of the refugee camp, New Hope. I built it almost two years ago, and it is being attacked very often by Scanran raiding parties, so we are needed. Your job will be to assist me in my work, do all the normal duties that I and the refugees do, and you will always be prepared for battle. It's hard, but rewarding. At first the people might be unsure of you, as they were with me, but show them you can work and lead, and they will respect you."  
  
Fhire nodded.  
  
"And don't worry, this is a refugee camp. There will be plenty of people your age to talk to."  
  
Fhire seemed to relax. She smiled. "I was afraid it was just going to be adults! But I will still put all my energy into my work!"  
  
Kel laughed. "That's good to hear, but even leaders need recreation. I thought that way last time, and I soon realized that with all the work, you still somehow find time for your friends."  
  
Fhire smiled.  
  
"So, I don't really know much about you, Fhire! Where do you hail from, what is your history?"  
  
Fhire told her everything.  
  
~INTERMISSION~  
  
Okay, this is a fairly important thing I just realized. I have completely forgotten about Tobe. I was planning on putting him in, I really was, but I forgot! Can we just say he stayed at New Hope? Please? For me?  
  
P.S- Fhire, I am making up a huge amount of information on your character right now. If there is anything you are seriously against, just tell me, because I'm talking about family, home, history, everything.  
  
Thanks, sorry to bug you!  
  
Thank you so much!!!!!!!  
  
~BACK TO MY STORY~  
  
"Well, I am from Bathast, a eastern fief. (A/N I'm not sure what border Scanra is, but she lives on the opposite. Let's just say it's the east.) I love it there, we are very well off, so almost all of the children there are educated and acceptable for me to associate with, as my mother puts it."  
  
Kel smiled. The children in Mindelan weren't particularly well off, in fact they weren't very good kids, which had actually helped Kel with her fighting skills and defensiveness.  
  
"I have four siblings, two brothers, two sisters. My older brother is a squire with an man named. . . oh, what was it. . . Anders, I think. My younger brother is a first year page-"  
  
"Who?" Kel interjected. "Anders of Mindelan?"  
  
Fhire nodded. 'I think so."  
  
Kel laughed. "That's my brother! How old is yours?"  
  
"He's only a year older than me. As I was saying, my younger brother is a first year page, my older sister went to her husband's fief with him last year, but my younger sister also wants to be a knight! She's coming to the palace in three years, if she still wants to."  
  
Kel smiled. Four female knights. That would be wonderful.  
  
Fhire continued. "My father was a knight, but he retired ten years ago when he lost his right hand in a battle. I lived in Bathast my whole life, but I have been to the Yamani islands, and my sister's fief."  
  
Kel smiled again. Fhire certainly was loosening up, she was much more talkative than Kel had expected.  
  
"So, Fhire, I know your history. What do you like to do?" Kel laughed.  
  
Fhire grinned. "I love jousting, and I want to be able to fight with a glaive. I tried to learn when I was in the Yamani islands, but I never got past the basic motions, because I was never there long enough."  
  
"Fhire, we seem to have everything in common! We are both associated with Anders, we've both spent time in the Yamani Islands, and we both love jousting and glaives! And," she added, seeing Triaxx's head pop out of the basket, "we have a fixation with small, toothy animals."  
  
Fhire glanced behind her, and seeing Triaxx, patted her on the head. "What small animal's do you have in mind?"  
  
Kel laughed. "Haven't you noticed the white dog running under everyone's feet all morning? That's Jump, I saved him from a butcher's knife in my second year. He must be almost thirteen now, at the very least." Kel said, the thought just occurring to her. In the twelve years she'd had Jump, she'd never thought about him getting old. "Then there's Peachblossom, this one." She said, patting her gelding's neck. "Also, when I was a squire, I accidentally adopted a baby griffin from a raider."  
  
Fhire's eyes grew wide. "A griffin? But what did the parent's do?"  
  
Kel laughed. "Our wonderful friend Daine helped me out with that."  
  
"So, you two seem to be having fun!" Dom circled back to them. "I've been told to inform you that we will be reaching today's destination in half an hour."  
  
Kel glanced at the sun. "Goddess! We've been talking all day! We didn't even have any lunch."  
  
"Only two women could do that." Neal circled back to them. Dom laughed, but cut it short when he saw the glare Kel was giving Neal.  
  
"Fhire, you said that Triaxx was well trained." Kel said, turning Peachblossom close enough to nip at Neal. "Does she attack on command?"  
  
They all laughed as Neal trotted away. Kel could see him near the centre of the group, trying to stop Jump from lunging at him. They laughed even harder. "That dog's got great hearing."  
  
The three of them laughed together for the next half hour.  
  
They rode up to a large town, with enough inn's for all the soldiers. "We will leave at seven o'clock sharp tomorrow morning! Do not be late or you will feel my wrath!" Raoul yelled, making a few of the older soldiers laugh.  
  
* * * * *  
  
After eating dinner with the others and having a relaxing bath, Kel was ready to go to sleep. Just as she pulled back her covers, there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Bloody hell." She sighed.  
  
She opened the door a crack, in case it was a man she didn't want to see her in her nightclothes. It wasn't.  
  
"Good evening, fair lady." Dom said, bowing with a flourish.  
  
Kel smiled weakly. "Come in, if you are going to." She was leaning on the door for support, she was so tired.  
  
Dom stepped in and kissed her softly on the lips. "I love you, Lady Knight. And no matter how annoying it gets, I'm going to tell you that every single day."  
  
Kel smiled and kissed him back. "You're a fool, you know that? And I love you for it."  
  
He smiled. "So, are you happy with your squire?" He asked, sitting down on her bed.  
  
Kel lay down, putting her head in his lap. " She's wonderful. We've agreed that I'll teach her how to use a glaive. Did you know that her brother is Anders' squire?"  
  
Dom shook his head. "Amazing."  
  
"What about you? How was your day?"  
  
Dom shrugged. "Nothing too interesting. I talked with Raoul for a while, and Neal. It seems that he is going to be your head healer, and you are going to be leading the entire party after we pass Steadfast and drop off Raoul's party. Did you know that?"  
  
Kel nodded, trying to stay awake. "I was commander last time, you know. There were a few of the refugee's that weren't happy with that. One, a fairly rich man, was horrible to me at first. But they eventually figure out that I'm smarter and stronger than them."  
  
Dom chuckled. "I'm sure they do."  
  
Kel couldn't help it, she needed rest. "I'm sorry Dom, I really must go to sleep. And you probably should too. I see that yawn."  
  
Dom smiled, and they both sat up. "Let's do that every night."  
  
Kel kissed him. "Every night that I can stay awake for it, at least." She kissed him, and he left.  
  
"Goddess, what am I going to do with myself?" Kel muttered. "I can't go on like this, sooner or later we are going to have to go past the courting. I shouldn't worry about the future, but he isn't allowed to marry, so what will I do?"  
  
But before she could finish the thought, she had fallen asleep, not to remember these troubling thoughts after a dreamless sleep.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Wow, my longest chapter yet, and probably my least active!  
  
Thanks for all the reviews, but come on people! You can do better than 39! I should expect fifty before I update again. If you get to 55 before I update, I'll do two chapters at once. Promise!  
  
-unolimbo 


	8. Not the way it should be

The next morning, Kel woke early. She had agreed to teach Fhire to fight with a glaive, and she wasn't going to go back on her promise.  
  
"Very good, Fhire!" She was showing Kel what she already knew. It wasn't much, but she was a natural.  
  
"All right, I am going to teach you how to kill with a glaive. You start by pushing it forward, like with a sword, but then you slide it, so that it slices. Do you understand?"  
  
Fhire nodded, and showed Kel the motion. "Very good."  
  
She showed her how to use it as a hook, how to swing it properly, and how to hold it so she would never lose any fingers.  
  
"Girls! Settle down, it's time to go!" Dom said, catching them both by surprise. "Gods, Kel, if you two go on like this, you're going to kill yourselves!"  
  
He kissed her on the cheek. "Just thought you might want to know, we actually are leaving in a few minutes. So let's go!"  
  
They sprinted back to their rooms to pack, and made it outside just in time.  
  
"Kel, we're just going to be walking our horses, right?" Fhire asked.  
  
Kel nodded. "Great." Fhire said, letting Triaxx out of her box. "No hurting anyone in the party, and don't go out of my sight."  
  
Triaxx jumped down and barked. Kel laughed. She was just like Jump.  
  
At nightfall that night, they arrived at Steadfast. Kel noticed the look on Fhire's face. "Don't get too excited, this isn't our final destination. We're going to a much bigger, less intimidating place." She laughed. Fhire grinned back.  
  
"Who goes there?" A soldier yelled from the top of the wall.  
  
"Sir Raoul of Goldenlake!" Raoul yelled.  
  
The gate opened, and they all rode in.  
  
There weren't enough rooms for all of Kel's party, so many of them shared rooms. Kel knocked on Dom and Neal's door. Neal opened it. "Hey Kel, Fhire."  
  
He let them in, and they sat down. "Fhire, get comfortable. Remember, we're your friends. Not your betters." Neal said.  
  
"Well, Kel's your better, but Neal isn't." Dom said, earning a punch from Neal.  
  
"What about you, Dom? Are you her better?" Kel asked.  
  
"That depends on the time of day, fair Keladry." He said, earning a punch from Kel, so everyone was even.  
  
They stayed in Dom and Neal's room for a little while, talking and laughing the night away. Reluctantly, Kel and Fhire returned to their room.  
  
"Thank you, Lady Kel. That was fun."  
  
Kel laughed. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. And thank you for calling me Kel. When Raoul was my knight master, he always insisted I call him Raoul. He said Sir or My Lord made him feel old, but I still couldn't bring myself to call him Raoul."  
  
Fhire laughed. "Does sir make you feel old?"  
  
Kel shook her head. "No, I just think it makes you less comfortable."  
  
Before Fhire could answer, they were both asleep.  
  
They left first thing in the morning, as it was only a day's ride to New Hope.  
  
When they could see a speck in the distance, Kel sat more comfortably.  
  
"Why are you so anxious, Lady Kel?" Fhire asked.  
  
"I was afraid I'd gone the wrong way."  
  
Dom laughed. "She's done it before."  
  
Kel shot him a look. "No I haven't."  
  
"That's what Neal said."  
  
"Neal!" Kel yelled.  
  
"No, I didn't! I was framed!"  
  
But no one could hear him. They were laughing too hard.  
  
Just then, a flurry of Kel's sparrows came flying directly at them.  
  
"Scanrans!" Kel yelled. "We're under attack! Get in formation, prepare yourselves for combat!"  
  
They pulled out their swords and lined their horses up. "Stick with me, Fhire."  
  
Kel looked down. "Jump, distract them."  
  
The dog seemed to nod, and ran off barking.  
  
"Fhire, you said Triaxx is a good fighter, right? Well, now's her chance to prove herself."  
  
Fhire nodded. "Triaxx! Take out as many as you can." The wolf didn't move.  
  
Fhire started to repeat her instructions, but Kel cut her off.  
  
"No time. They're here."  
  
Kel gripped her glaive tightly. "Today you are going to see the glaive in use. It should help you learn."  
  
The first wave of Scanran soldiers came towards them.  
  
"Charge!" Kel yelled. She moved towards the first man, cutting off his head with her glaive. Peachblossom trampled a man, and she could see Jump hanging off of one man's arm. She gutted three men before they could swing their axes. She looked up at Fhire, who was also fighting well, her gelding, Night Warrior, trampling as many men as Peachblossom. Kel could see she wasn't focused. Just after slitting the throat of the man coming up behind her, Kel looked back at Fhire. She was having a hard time with an exceptionally large man with double axes. And there was another coming up behind her.  
  
"Fhire! Duck!" She yelled, and threw her glaive at the man coming behind her. It pierced him in the chest, and he fell over. Taking out her sword, Kel felt a piercing pain in her leg. She looked down. Her left leg was gushing blood at the calf. She looked up. There was a man with a large rusty sword, grinning at her.  
  
"You cut my leg, while I'm on a horse. Really smart." Kel said, killing a man on her right side.  
  
"I will not hear you talk to me that way, wench!" He yelled, swinging his sword at her head. She ducked, and stabbed him with hers.  
  
"Fine then, don't listen."  
  
She heard a horn blow, and looked up. The Scanrans were retreating. She glanced at Fhire, and saw that Triaxx had come out of her box, and was helping Jump maul one last man.  
  
Kel galloped over to Neal, who was off his horse, healing one man's arm wound.  
  
"Neal, when your done, I need you."  
  
He looked up. "Why?"  
  
"I'm injured, Meathead."  
  
His eyes widened. "You? How?"  
  
Kel shrugged. "I was watching out for Fhire, I got caught off guard."  
  
He nodded and went over to her. "I should have known. If you're going to get hurt, you're not going to get hurt badly." A minute later, there was nothing left but a thin white line. "I don't know what he thought it was going to do to you."  
  
Kel grinned. "He knew I was a woman. He thought I would faint at the pain or something."  
  
Dom walked up to them. "By the look of it, you'll faint from the blood loss. C'mon, drink something." He handed her a canteen of water. She chugged the entire thing.  
  
Kel rode over to where Fhire was sitting on a rock. She got off her horse and sat beside her. Triaxx climbed into her lap and went to sleep.  
  
"You fought very well, but you seemed to lose your concentration. Was something wrong?" Kel asked.  
  
Fhire shook her head. "the man in front of me told me I shouldn't be fighting because I'm a girl."  
  
Kel knew the way to deal with this. "What did you do?" She asked.  
  
Fhire looked up at her and grinned. "I gutted him. It was fun!"  
  
Kel laughed. "Let's go, Neal looks pretty pale, anyone with minor wounds will have to wait until we get to the fort."  
  
They stood up. "Everyone on your horses! We leave in five minutes! If you can't ride, get someone to tie you to your horse!" Kel ran over to the man she'd threw her glaive into and grabbed it.  
  
Fifteen minutes down the road, they could almost make out the shape of the fort. "Almost home." Kel said.  
  
She saw movement in a bush. "Hold!" She yelled. Everyone stopped. She pulled out her glaive and walked quietly into the trees. She couldn't see anything, but she knew what she'd seen was not an animal. She signaled for another man to come. Fhire appeared at her side, silent.  
  
"My lady!" A young woman came out of the threes.  
  
Kel stood up. "Fhire, go get Neal." She looked at the young woman, pale under the dirt on her face. There was a trickle of blood on her forehead, and she was holding her left arm. "What is your name?" Kel asked softly.  
  
"Meghyn, my lady. Please, you must listen! They took New Hope. Just this morning. Almost everyone got out, through the secret exits Master Numair made. They didn't follow. They didn't want us, they wanted the camp. They killed as many of us as they could with arrows from in the fort. About twenty, I think. I got so far because I was in the far end of the field. I paused, and they almost killed me."  
  
She showed Kel her arm. An arrow had grazed it. "When did this happen?" Kel demanded.  
  
"Yesterday, just before we went in, My Lady."  
  
Neal walked up to them. Well, he staggered, but Fhire helped him.  
  
"I don't know how much I can do, I've exhausted myself."  
  
"Just clean her wounds, we'll bandage them."  
  
Neal nodded. After he finished, Kel brought Meghyn to Peachblossom, so she could get some cloth to bandage her wound. "Don't worry." She said, seeing the scared look on Meghyn's face. "After Neal has recovered some of his energy, tomorrow he'll heal your wounds completely."  
  
"We set up camp here! Everyone in this party needs rest, and if we're going to attack our own camp, I think we need that rest!"  
  
She signalled for a meeting. They sat down beside a small stream.  
  
"Alright, this is going to be one of our most dangerous fights." She said to Dom, Neal, Merric, Fhire, and Captain Walford, the captain of the three units of soldiers. "We have the advantage in this fight, even if they are the defensive. They are new to the camp, and they don't know their way around yet. We attack after nightfall. Walford, one unit of your men are going to be a distraction. They are going to stay close enough to catch their attention, but not close enough that they can shoot you. Understand?"  
  
Walford nodded.  
  
"Dom, your men are going to stay hidden, but in the trees as close as you can get to the camp. Merric will go with you, he led every expedition last time, he knows exactly where the good hiding places are, and the Scanrans don't. the other two units of Walford's men will go with you. Neal, you are going to stay with Walford, because they will do the least fighting. I believe you'll get enough rest to fight, but I don't want you exhausting yourself."  
  
They all nodded. "Kel," Neal said, "Where are you two going?"  
  
Kel stood up. "Well, meathead, someone has to let you all in, don't they?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hah! I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo evil! I love it! Almost 2000 words, and quite a bit of action!  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it was great. You're getting there, while I write this, I have 46 reviews! I'll be nice and post it with out the other four!  
  
Fhire: I don't think I've even made up any characters for you to use. I guess you could use Captain Walford, but he doesn't have a personality yet, sooo. . . anyway, I don't think I made up any other characters, did I?  
  
Kelly Masbolle: I'm glad you're enjoying it, I'll have to read your stories!  
  
I've been getting a few ideas for stories from people, and this I say: don't waste them on me! I've got most of my story planned out, so if you have good ides take credit for them, and write your own stories, or find someone with writers block. Mine's gone. At least, for this story!  
  
Thanks, unolimbo 


	9. Caught

(A/N Owen is in this little meeting too)  
  
"Kel, that's insane! You're going to get yourself killed! Not to mention Fhire!" Neal said.  
  
"No really, I don't mind." Fhire said quietly  
  
Kel rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad. We're going to go through one of the escape holes, kill anyone who opposes us, and then open the gate, letting you come in and kill everyone else."  
  
Neal stood up. "I really must protest! This is madness, Kel."  
  
Kel stood up too. "But it will get us the camp back. You agree, don't you, Dom?" She shot him a look.  
  
"Actually, I don't this is madness. I think Neal is right, you are putting yourself in unneeded danger, but my word means nothing. If that's what you want to do, we can't stand in your way." He looked really upset to say it.  
  
Kel felt sadness flow through her. He wasn't backing her up. He didn't think she could do it. "Fine." She said, feeling the colour rise in her face. "Please, give me your ideas, so I can consider them."  
  
No one said anything.  
  
"Err, Kel, we could just storm them." Owen said.  
  
Neal shook his head. "No good, Owen. This may just be a camp, but it's pretty well protected. And we don't know how many of them there are."  
  
They sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking. "Is that it? Because I really have better things to do." Kel said, glaring at them.  
  
No one answered, so Kel stood up. "I'd like you to brief your men, please. We'll leave at sundown, and Neal, I think you should get some sleep."  
  
She and Fhire walked over to their horses to feed them.  
  
"Lady Kel" Fhire asked quietly. Kel looked up. "Is it really as dangerous as Sir Neal said?"  
  
Kel sighed. "Fhire, I'm not going to lie to you. It is that dangerous, and if you don't think you're up to it, I won't think any less of you for backing down. But if you stay, I think we can do it."  
  
Fhire smiled. "I think you're right. Let's do this is."  
  
Kel laughed. "You are going to be one good knight."  
  
"Lady Kel, maybe you should talk to Dom and Neal. You did yell at them, they were only trying to help."  
  
Kel sighed again, trying to stay like a stone. "Maybe that's a good idea."  
  
An hour before sundown and after she was in her armour, Kel went to look for Dom. She found him skipping stones into the stream. "Dom?"  
  
He glanced back at her, but went back to skipping stones.  
  
"Dom, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blown up at you. But I have to do this. I feel it. This is important, and I think this is why I'm here. If they keep New Hope, they have part of Tortall, and they therefore have control over us."  
  
Dom shrugged. "I think I knew that all along. This could be the turning point in this war. And I stand behind you, not just because you're my superior, but because I think you're right."  
  
Kel smiled. "Thank you so much, Dom." She kissed him. "I love you."  
  
He hugged her. "I love you too. Now go knock them out."  
  
Kel jogged up to Peachblossom. "Alright, we're off? Walford, Merric, Dom, do your units all know where they should be?"  
  
"Yes." They all said in unison.  
  
"Very good. We are going to ride until just before the hill. That is the first place they will be able to see us from. After that, it's just by foot, gents."  
  
A few of them chuckled.  
  
"Walford, your distraction unit will be on horseback so that you can ride quickly into the camp once we raise the gate. Merric and Dom, your units will leave to walk when the sparrows fly back. Walford, your men will ride just over the hill. . . Wait. Scratch that."  
  
She paused. "Walford, your men will not be a distraction, at least not right away. I want you to wait to come out. That way, when Fhire and I arrive, they will still be asleep."  
  
Walford nodded.  
  
"Alright, so, Walford, your men will come out after the sparrows come to you, just like we planned. But it might be longer. Now let's go!"  
  
She rode off at a gallop, Night Warrior giving Peachblossom a run for his money. "Hold up, Fhire. We're here." Fhire stopped instantly, and they both slid off their horses.  
  
"We're off." She said, pecking Dom softly on the cheek.  
  
She and Fhire walked silently towards the camp. They stopped behind a small patch of trees. Kel pulled out her glaive, Fhire her sword.  
  
"This is the hard part." Kel whispered. "there is a fairly long stretch without tree cover. We are going to move swiftly, on my command, understand?"  
  
Fhire nodded, and they crept forward. Kel shushed the sparrows, and they slowly stepped towards the edge of the trees. Kel saw the guard walk in the other direction. She signalled to Fhire, and they ran to the wall.  
  
"Lady Kel, there is no entrance." Fhire said.  
  
Kel grinned, and beckoned Fhire closer. She suddenly disappeared into the dirt. Fhire followed, but the sparrows did not. They would come back soon, Kel knew that.  
  
They walked slowly towards the front gate, hiding behind buildings, animal pens, or just in the shadows.  
  
Finally, they made it to the gate. Kel silently slit the gate guards throat. "Stay on guard. They are going to be here very, very soon."  
  
She pulled on the winch. It was tough, but it slowly opened the gate. One of the guards atop the wall noticed, but did not raise the alarm. Instead, he quietly walked down the stairs to check it out. Fhire gutted him quickly.  
  
But the winch was loud, and more people were coming. Kel had underestimated how long it would take to get to it, and the sparrows were not back yet.  
  
Just as she thought that, they came barrelling towards her. She nodded, and they turned around immediately.  
  
More and more men were coming, and Kel could see Fhire was going to need her help. Finally, the gate was open enough to let Merric and Walford's parties in. She could hear the rumbling steps of the horses.  
  
She glanced behind her at Fhire. She was giving it her all, doing exceptionally well.  
  
Before Kel could raise her glaive, she felt a breeze on the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She collapsed, and everything went black.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Dom ran into the camp with the rest of his party, but he was looking for Kel. He ran up to Fhire and chopped off the head of a man behind her.  
  
"Kel's still alive, don't worry." She said, lifting the anxiousness in his chest.  
  
Soon, all of Kel's soldiers were in the camp, and all of the Scanran soldiers had either been killed, or retreated.  
  
Dom looked around for Kel. She was not among the men trying to close the gate, nor the men lining up for healing.  
  
"Mithros, don't let her be dead." He muttered, scanning the bodies lying on the ground. Hers wasn't there.  
  
"Fhire! Have you seen Kel?" He ran up to her.  
  
She shook her head. "Not since you came in."  
  
She stood up and helped him look for her. After going through every man in the camp, living and dead, they knew Kel was not there.  
  
She had been kidnapped.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ooh, cliffhanger! Well, I don't know if I'll have time to update, I'm going to Lord of Ther Rings at the Paramount theatre tomorrow. My friend and I are dressing up like hobbits!  
  
Thanks for the reviews,  
  
-unolimbo 


	10. Return fight

Kel woke up with a start. "Where am I?" All she knew was she wasn't at home.  
  
She sat up quickly. It was cold, and very dry. It felt like the middle of winter, but she knew it was early autumn.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
A fairly young man, dressed in Scanran colours, walked into the small room she was in.  
  
"Well, well, Lady. Why would such a beautiful woman be masquerading as a man? Did you have it in your mind to do some good? Save your people, and all that?"  
  
Kel blinked. He didn't know. "I am not pretending to be a man. I am the Lady Knight. The Protector of the Small."  
  
He nodded. "I have heard of you. I would think you would be stronger. We captured you so easily."  
  
Kel felt her knuckles go white with anger.  
  
"Now, now, My Lady, no attacking me. I'm too important. I hope you enjoy your stay here, Lady Knight."  
  
He walked out, and nodded to the guard at the door. He locked the door.  
  
"Well my dear, as I said, I hope you enjoy your stay here. And I must tell you, you will have a much more comfortable stay if you just tell us what we want."  
  
Kel stood up and walked to the door "No."  
  
He laughed. "Very dramatic." He muttered, walking away.  
  
Kel walked back to the small cot and sat down. Her head ached slightly, but she could feel no battle wounds. "Well, that's good."  
  
She lay down and went to sleep.  
  
The next day, she was woken up roughly. "Get up." A man's voice said.  
  
She was taken to a bathtub. But she knew better. It was not a warm bath, it was full of ice water.  
  
The man grabbed her by the legs, and she could see a few others watching, including the man who had talked to her. But before she could identify the others, her head was submerged in the icy water. Her head spun, and her eyes slid out of focus.  
  
One of the men walked up to her.  
  
"Well, that was refreshing." She said.  
  
The man dipped her again.  
  
"Talk, scum! We do not want to wait too long, your torture will just get worse."  
  
Kel didn't say anything. She felt the cold rush of water over her upper body again, and she felt her heart slow down. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't see, and her ears were pounding uncontrollably. She almost blacked out, but told herself she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her weak.  
  
After the next dip, she went back on her word. She blacked out.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"We must find something to barter with. If we can capture someone important enough, they might give Kel back in exchange." Raoul said. He and Alanna had come to New Hope to help work on finding Kel.  
  
Alanna nodded. "We could try and get a general, or the king himself."  
  
Dom looked up. He hadn't seen Kel in three weeks. "Kel taught me something before that battle. One man's life is not worth an army's."  
  
They looked at him, puzzled.  
  
"If we succeed in capturing their king, we shouldn't barter with him. We should kill him. Kel would have our necks if she saw we were giving back the one true force against us in this war for her."  
  
Raoul nodded. He understood, they would need a better plan.  
  
"We could make an illusion of something that they want." Numair said.  
  
"But what?" Alanna shook her head.  
  
"Well, what about Blayce? Something to do with him?"  
  
Neal shook his head. "Blayce is dead, as is Stenmun, his crony. There's no one else who would know how to make the killing devices."  
  
They sat in silence for a long time, and decided to end their meeting.  
  
Dom could tell nothing would come from it. Nothing had come from the daily meetings they'd had for the past three weeks.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kel felt arms pick her up and drag her to the torture room.  
  
Nothing worked, as nothing had every other time.  
  
She felt a hand make contact with her mouth, and felt her jaw slide out of place. She pushed it back with her tongue and didn't say anything. She felt the same hand join with her stomach, and she felt winded, but she didn't speak. She felt her nose break, and her eye swell.  
  
The man let go of her, and she fell to the floor. She felt a kick in the chest, and felt ribs break. A kick in her stomach, and she coughed up blood. She sat there, crouching to the floor, when she spoke for the first time in three weeks.  
  
"I had a vision once." She spoke clearly, even though she hadn't spoken in such a long time. The man in black, who had spoken to her that first day, turned. Kel knew his face well now; he had been there every single time, leading the other men. She kept talking. "It told me that I couldn't help. It told me there was someone else."  
  
He kicked her. "Continue!"  
  
She didn't look up. "A child, so fair, so young. A magic child. So powerful, but so confused. He will do magic for anyone who asked him. He will be the end of this war."  
  
"Who is he?" the man in black roared.  
  
"I do not know his name. tell my people you want the child with the extraordinary magic. The little one."  
  
He smiled. "We'll see about that."  
  
Kel thought it hadn't worked, as nothing happened for another month. Then, one day, she saw an eagle out of her small window. It was not looking for food. It was looking for her.  
  
Finally, after an hour of circling, it came down to Kel. She smiled.  
  
"Daine." The eagle nuzzled her silently. Kel looked behind her, but the guard was not watching. "Tell them to send a child. If the man asks to see his powers, have Numair make it look like the child did it. I need a strong willed child, someone who will not be frightened. I have told them nothing that is true, and I will not let the child get hurt. Do you understand?"  
  
The eagle nodded, and flew out the window.  
  
"Goddess bless, Daine."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Sir! Lady Daine returns!" The guard on the wall said to Dom.  
  
He ran down to where Numair, Raoul, Alanna, and Neal were standing anxiously.  
  
"She's here." The all let out a breath, and walked into the tent.  
  
"Well?" They said after Daine had had a drink.  
  
"She's still alive, fairly healthy. She's being kept at a camp a few miles past the border. That letter they sent? That was Kel's doing. She said to put a child who wouldn't be frightened on a horse to exchange, and if they ask to see his magic, have Numair make it look like the child did it. Kel said she wouldn't let the child be taken."  
  
They all nodded. "We'll have to trust that she'll get it right." Raoul said.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Well, well, My Lady, it seems that your friends have finally answered. I thought you had made it up, but they seem to understand."  
  
Kel didn't move. Two men came and dragged her out of her cell. They put her on a horse, tied her hands, and surrounded her with four guards.  
  
"Can't have you running away, My Lady." The man in black said.  
  
Kel didn't move. She didn't want to move. She could feel every broken bone in her body, every bruise on her skin, every cut, every scrape. And they hurt.  
  
For three hours, they rode. Kel was completely silent, ignoring everything going on around her. She was busy undoing the ropes.  
  
Kel looked then noticed something.  
  
The entire Scanran party was quiet. There was an odd hush over everyone, and though she couldn't see them, Kel knew that they were right in front of her friends.  
  
"Where is she?" She heard a familiar voice ask.  
  
"Show us the child first." The man in black said.  
  
All Kel could see was a blast of fire hit a dead tree, which went up in flames. Just as suddenly, it went out.  
  
"Very well." Maggur said. Kel kept her head down, her hands in the ropes, and stayed silent while a soldier pulled her horse forward.  
  
"Kel!"  
  
She had to bite her tongue to not look up. She knew who spoke that time.  
  
"I am stone." She thought, keeping herself in control. She heard a resounding smack on the backside of her horse, and felt herself move slowly forward, towards her friends.  
  
* * * * *  
  
(A/N this bit is a little confusing because it goes between different peoples perspectives. We start with Dom, then move to Fhire, etc. It is quite obvious who's perspective it is, but I thought I'd tell you anyway.)  
  
"So we need a child?" Raoul asked.  
  
Daine nodded. "Someone who can handle themselves. That's all she said."  
  
Raoul nodded, and Daine was lead out of the room so she could go rest.  
  
"Who can we send?" He sighed. "I think I might know what she's up to."  
  
Fhire stepped forward. "I'll go. If what ever Kel is planning goes wrong, I can handle myself, and I am still a child in most people's eyes." She looked down as she said this, but still stood tall.  
  
Dom walked to the window and looked out. The camp was filling up again, many people had gotten back to the camp alive. Tobe had not strayed far from the camp, waiting to see the Tortallan flags fly again. He had been the first to come back.  
  
Tobe stepped forward. "I will do it. I am younger, that is what they are expecting, is it not? Besides, Kel knows she can trust me."  
  
Raoul shook his head. "No, Tobe. Fhire is right. She still looks young, but she can fight very well. I would not want to be at the end of her sword."  
  
He smiled, and Fhire did too. Tobe nodded and quietly walked out of the room.  
  
A few minutes later, Fhire walked to her room to get ready. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she spun around. "Hello, Tobe." She said, smiling.  
  
"Hello, Lady Fhire." Tobe said. "Are you trying to take Lady Kel from me?" He asked quietly.  
  
Fhire smiled. "No, Tobe. She chose me as her squire. I will be here for four years, but I'm sure if you feel unappreciated you could tell her."  
  
Tobe nodded and Fhire walked down the hall, growing more and more nervous about what was to come.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kel looked up. She could see so many people, but as she looked at them, she felt strange. She didn't recognise the faces, so sad, so anxious. She knew them. She knew their eyes, their hair, their bodies, but she knew not who they were.  
  
She looked down, biting her lip. She was tired, and hurt. She looked up again, and kept herself from sighing. She could name every face, but her eyes rested on one. The face of the girl riding slowly towards her, her head held high, her face stony.  
  
Kel almost smiled. Fhire. Of any child to be on that horse, Kel was glad it was Fhire.  
  
Just as she rode past Fhire, Kel sat up straight. Before anyone could say anything, she sprung up, throwing the ropes off her hands. She flipped over onto Fhire's horse, landing on her hands. She pushed herself up, feeling the strain on her aching muscles. She flipped again, landing in front of Fhire on Night Warrior.  
  
She grabbed her reins and spun the gelding around. "Ride, Night Warrior!" She galloped through the crowd of Tortallans, feeling Fhire slide off behind her to fight. She rode as long as she could, feeling herself slide out of consciousness. She rode all the way to the gate of New Hope, where she fell out of consciousness and slid to the ground.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Fhire!" She turned around and caught the sword thrown to her by Dom. She immediately thrust it in the nearest Scanran, who also happened to be running towards her with an axe.  
  
Half an hour later, they realized they needed to get back to the camp. "Fhire!" Dom yelled, signalling her to get on his horse. She nodded, cut off one last man's head, and jumped on behind him.  
  
Dom kicked his horse, and they galloped back to the camp with the rest of the Tortallan army.  
  
Dom leapt off his horse and ran to the infirmary, Fhire close behind. Neal, who had stayed behind, knowing that Kel would return, was waiting at the door for them.  
  
"Mithros, you two need help!" He said, looking at them. They were both exhausted, and Fhire had a long gash across her face.  
  
They both insisted that they see Kel first, so Neal gave them beds next to hers, so they could be near her while still resting. Tobe was already sitting there.  
  
Before Fhire could say hello, she had fallen asleep.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kel opened her eyes. The room seemed out of focus. She tried to sit up, which made her quite dizzy, and it hurt.  
  
She felt her chest; her ribs weren't broken anymore, but they hurt like hell. She tried to stand up, but gave up quickly.  
  
"Kel." She looked up. Dom was standing at the doorway of the infirmary with a roll in his hand.  
  
She smiled weakly. "Hello." He ran over to her and hugged her. She winced as he did it, but held onto him so he couldn't pull away.  
  
"Oh God, Kel. I thought I'd lost you. We all did." He handed her the roll. She ate it greedily.  
  
"What did they do to you?" He asked softly.  
  
Kel swallowed hard. It had been such a long time, but it had ended up as such a blur.  
  
"They tortured me for information, but I never told them anything. How long have I been gone?"  
  
He held her hand. "Two and a half months."  
  
Kel smiled. "I guess I missed a lot, didn't I?"  
  
Dom hugged her again. "I missed you so much." He kissed her, and they sat for a long time, Kel leaning on his shoulder, neither of them talking, until Fhire came in, with Tobe.  
  
"My Lady!" Tobe said, but didn't move.  
  
Dom let go of Kel and stood up, at which point Fhire ran forward and gave her a hug.  
  
Kel looked at Tobe. He seemed to be holding himself back. "Don't I get a hug from you too?" She asked.  
  
His face broke into a smile, and he gave her a hug.  
  
By the end of the day, Kel hurt more than she had when she woke up, as so many people had hugged her.  
  
"Kel, if you want to go back to your room tonight, you may, but I don't want you to be alone. Fhire, or Dom, or anyone, but I want someone in the same room as you, just in case." Neal said. He was the only person who hadn't hugged her. He sat down beside her.  
  
"Are you doing alright?" He asked.  
  
Kel grinned. "Fit as a fiddle and ready to play."  
  
He smiled. "So who do you want me to get, Fhire or Dom? I'll tell them to come get you, you can stay in one of their rooms, I guess. That is, assuming you don't want to stay here."  
  
Half an hour later, Dom was helping Kel walk to his rooms.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
No, sick people, that is not because they went and had sex, it's because I'm tired right now, and I am going to write the next part tomorrow!  
  
Sick minds!  
  
PoisonMoon: I'm glad you're enjoying it, but think of it this way: the faster I finish it, the sooner you'll have no more to read.  
  
Pinky: I hate cliffhangers too, but they make it so easy to end a chapter, and people always review! Like, for instance, yourself!  
  
And to everyone else who reviewed, thank you! NOW REVIEW MORE! I want at least a hundred when I finish this story. . . I think I update too often. . .  
  
Jokes!  
  
-unolimbo 


	11. Back home, finally

"How are you feeling?" Dom asked, after Kel had lay down on his bed.  
  
She shrugged. "Nothing's broken anymore, I'll be fine. Where are you sleeping?"  
  
"Cot." He said, pointing at a cot that a refugee had brought in. "You will be fine, sure, but what about now?"  
  
Kel smiled. "You care far too much for your own good."  
  
Dom sat down beside her. "Kel, I have every right to be worried about you. You were gone for a long time, Kel. We all thought we'd lost you."  
  
He hugged her softly. Just then, there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Hey Dom. Kel, how are you feeling." Neal asked.  
  
Kel groaned. "Doesn't anyone want to know anything else about me? How about, 'Kel, how was your day?' or 'Kel, what are you planning on doing tomorrow?'"  
  
Dom laughed. "She's being way worse to you than she was to me."  
  
"Not fair, Kel! Treat everyone fairly." Neal said. "Seriously, how are you feeling? You were in pretty bad conditions for a long time."  
  
Kel sighed. "I just feel weak, and I wish I could get my skills back instead of sleeping. I haven't gotten any exercise in two and a half months. But really, I will be fine."  
  
Neal nodded. "I just wanted to check. Goodnight, you two."  
  
"Goodnight, Neal." Kel smiled. It felt good to have friends to say goodbye to.  
  
"Night, Meathead." Neal scowled, but didn't say anything.  
  
Kel sighed. She wished she didn't need to sleep. She wanted to be up with her friends, seeing all the people she'd missed for such a long time. She didn't want to be sitting in uncomfortable silence with a man who seemed uncomfortable with her now.  
  
She looked at Dom. He was lying on his bed, looking at the ceiling. It was true, they were silent, and Dom did not look comfortable.  
  
"Dom, what's wrong?" Kel asked softly.  
  
He looked over at her, but then went back to looking at the ceiling. "It just feels so strange. I spent so much time thinking the worst, thinking that you were dead, thinking that you would leak everything away, that we would have to save you, but- but then you surprised us."  
  
He got up and walked over to her bed. "You didn't tell them anything, you survived with a few broken ribs and some bruises, and you escaped on your own. Then I think of all the things you have done in the past, like building and running two refugee camps, and killing Blayce, and Neal tells me you led your friends when you were a page, and you did so much, and I look at myself, and I have done nothing. Nothing except fall in love with a woman who's too good for me."  
  
Kel looked up at him. Too good? Her? "Dom," She shook her head. "I'm not too good for you. I let myself get captured, remember? And no one is too good for anyone else's love."  
  
She leaned forward and kissed him. "I love you." She whispered. "I don't care if you haven't done anything."  
  
He smiled. "Thank you, Lady Knight."  
  
"Now that is just going to make you feel worse." Kel laughed.  
  
Dom sat back. "I don't know, maybe I'm taking this the wrong way. Maybe I should be telling people you're in love with me. You can be a trophy. 'Oh yeah? Well the Lady Knight is in love with. me.' That would shut anyone up."  
  
Kel laughed. "Dom, you can make any situation funny, can't you?"  
  
He laughed too. "Probably. Now go to sleep. If you want to be able to get up tomorrow, you really must sleep."  
  
He kissed her on the forehead and went to his own bed.  
  
"Goodnight, Kel." He said softly, a few minutes later.  
  
Kel heard it, but was too tired to answer.  
  
The next morning, Kel woke up feeling worse than she had the day before. She was so sore, she felt like she would never get out of bed. But she knew that getting up would make her feel better, so she dragged herself out.  
  
She glanced at Dom's bed, and saw that he was still sleeping.  
  
She went to the bathroom to wash up. Sinking into a warm bath, Kel sighed. "How long has it been?" She thought. "I forgot what a bath feels like."  
  
Half an hour later, Kel got out of the bath, her sore muscles feeling much better. Just as she was wrapping a towel around her, the door opened.  
  
"Ahh, Dom!" She yelled.  
  
He immediately went turned around and closed the door.  
  
"Sorry." Came his muffled voice from the other side of the door. "I didn't know you were in there."  
  
Kel laughed as she opened the door. "Not a problem. Just remember to knock next time."  
  
He nodded, blushing slightly. As soon as the door was closed between them again, Kel sighed quietly. That was probably one of the most embarrassing things he's could've done. She shrugged it off and got dressed quickly. Just as she was pulling up her hair, which had grown incredibly long now, longer than she'd ever had it in her entire life, Dom walked out.  
  
"Leaving so soon?" He pouted.  
  
Kel laughed. "Dom, I haven't seen my friends in two and a half months. You're not the only person on the planet."  
  
She walked slowly down to the mess hall. A few of the refugees whispered as she walked past, but she ignored them.  
  
In the mess hall, she saw Raoul, Alanna, and Fhire sitting at the front table.  
  
"Good morning." She grinned, sitting down beside them.  
  
"Good morning Kel." Alanna smiled.  
  
"Morning." Raoul said.  
  
"Good morning, Lady Kel." Fhire said. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Sore." Kel said.  
  
"That would be so." Alana said. "Kel, Raoul and I are going back to Steadfast today, seeing as you're on the mend. Will you be okay taking command again, or should we appoint a temporary leader until you're better?"  
  
Kel shook her head. "That won't be necessary. I'm fine, really."  
  
"Fine, but I don't want to see you doing the labour with the refugees, alright? Neal told us that you insist on doing every job here, and he said you need to rest." Raoul looked stern.  
  
"Yes, my lord." Kel said, sticking her tongue out at him.  
  
"I'm going to be nice and take that as a yes." He laughed.  
  
An hour later, Kel accompanied them to the gate, to see them off.  
  
"Well, I daresay I will miss this camp." Alanna said.  
  
"It does make you do that, doesn't it?" Kel smiled. "Have a safe trip, and I hope to see you both soon, on happier reason."  
  
They both nodded, taking that as a goodbye.  
  
Kel watched as they trotted off towards Steadfast. "Goddess bless them on their trip." She said, turning around and looking at the work ahead of her.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Wow, worst chapter ever. I'll talk about people's reviews next time, I'm really tired and lazy right now, and I just want to post the worst chapter in existence.  
  
Thanks, unolimbo 


	12. Love, hate, and insecurity

Kel walked to her study, ready to go back to the work of running New Hope. Just as she sat down, there was a knock on the door.  
  
"Come in." Fhire led a soldier in, who looked nervous.  
  
"We weren't really sure how you want to run the camp, my lady. You ran it very differently than Lord Raoul did, so will you be running it like it was, or will you go back to the way it was at Haven?"  
  
Kel sighed. "I'm going to spend some time like this, but if I decide to change anything, I will tell everyone, don't worry."  
  
He nodded, thanked her, and left.  
  
"Well, five minutes back on the job, and you're already making people happy."  
  
Kel looked up. Fhire giggled and left the room, while Kel shot her a glance. Dom was standing in the doorway. "Who did I make happy?" She asked.  
  
He walked up to her. "Why, me, of course! Doesn't that count?" He kissed her.  
  
Kel laughed. "Very funny. I've got a meeting with Merric and Neal, so you should probably stay here, as you're leading the King's Own unit. They'll be here any minute. Sit down."  
  
He sat in one of the chairs in front of Kel's desk. As if on cue, Fhire, Merric and Neal walked in.  
  
"So what are we talking about today, Kel?" Neal asked.  
  
"We're talking about the reason we came to this camp in the first place. We came because it kept getting attacked. It seems that no one kept records of everything that happened here while I was gone, so I need you three to tell me. Were there many attacks? How many men in each? Everything you know."  
  
Neal smiled. "Straight to the point, that's our Kel. We got a few attacks, but after we took the fort back, I think they got the picture, and held off quite a bit. They wouldn't attack without less then five hundred men, but it's hard to gather such an army for just refugees, so they attack every few months."  
  
Kel nodded. "Is that it?"  
  
Neal nodded.  
  
"My men have been patrolling the fields and the roads. Our first few weeks were just looking for refuges that were hiding in the woods, and looking for Scanrans. We didn't get much, one or two Scanrans. But we've got most of the refugees back. We found about five refugees, dead, in the forests. Most with arrows, the Scanrans didn't want to leave the camp. That's basically it, no bandits or anything, even to the south."  
  
Kel nodded again. "Great. Dom, what area have your men been in the most?"  
  
He grinned. "Mostly with Merric here, but we've also been doing the basic duties that the refugees do, you know, the chores and such."  
  
"Wonderful. Well, that sounds good, I think that's all for now. I'll contact you three later if I need anything else."  
  
Fhire, Merric and Neal walked out, but Dom held back. "So, that's the way it works when we're here? Everything is business? We aren't friends here?" He grinned.  
  
Kel looked at him. "Dom, I'm working right now. This is serious, there are people's lives and well beings in the balance. I can't fool around all day, I must work. But we can have fun all night long."  
  
She looked disgusted. "I can't believe I just said that." She laughed. "But seriously, I should work. I'll talk to you later." She kissed him quickly on the lips and walked out. She sighed. "Another day, another friend probably mad at me."  
  
Kel went to the infirmary, where she found Fhire, helping Neal. "Do you want to come help learn the ropes of the camp, Fhire?" She asked, smiling. "I think you'll know more about it than me, now."  
  
Fhire grinned and left the building with her.  
  
Kel found that as it was her first day back, she didn't really know what was going on, so she chose to look over the refugees, seeing how they were doing.  
  
It was a lot worse now. Everyone was scared, they were all afraid of the Scanrans, afraid of what was to come. They were afraid that their families would be in danger again, that Kel, their leader, would fail again. That she would mess up again, that she would let more of them be killed.  
  
She wouldn't. That night, she would make things the way they were before, in Haven, so that they would understand that she still could lead. Last time, she had put so much effort into making them understand that she could lead, even as a woman. Now, she was putting so much effort into making them understand it again.  
  
She walked around the camp for the rest of the day, helping out where she was needed, giving direction where she could. Finally, it was dinner.  
  
She sat down at the table beside Neal. Merric came and sat across from them, beside Fhire, and Dom sat on Neal's other side.  
  
Kel noticed that he didn't sit beside her. She didn't say anything. "So, did anything extraordinary happen to you today?" Kel asked.  
  
Merric shook his head. "Nothing. We didn't find anyone today. By the way, Kel, I forgot to ask. If we find any Scanrans, do you want them killed, or just captured?"  
  
Kel thought about it. "I want them brought in and questioned. Preferably not to be tortured, but what ever is necessary. Basically, after that, they can either be kept, if you think they're not saying everything, or they can be killed."  
  
She paused. "And Merric, next time, ask me in the morning. This is my time with my friends, not my time for work."  
  
He nodded and grinned.  
  
Kel glanced at Dom. He was eating silently, looking at his plate. "What's wrong, Dom?" She asked.  
  
He looked up, his blue eyes darting between the three of them. "Wrong? Nothing's wrong." He looked back at his food, not saying anything else. Kel decided to let him brood, and went back to talking to Fhire, Neal and Merric.  
  
After she finished her dinner, she stood up at the front. She signalled for the other four to stand up, and they did, flanking her. Neal whistled loudly, and everyone looked towards her.  
  
"Thank you. Now, I know I have been away for a very long time, and looking around today, I decided that I am going to make it the way Haven was. The schedule, it will be on a rotation, starting the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, a chart will go up, citing all the daily chores. Every person in this room will be on it. It doesn't matter what chore you are assigned to, you will only be doing it for one day. Now, on to more pressing matters.  
  
"Every one of you in here is scared, I can see that." She began to pace. "you think I am weak now, I am not a good leader."  
  
Neal and Fhire glanced at each other behind Kel, but didn't say anything.  
  
"You're wrong. I proved myself at Haven, and I plan to do an even better job here. We will come out of this war, the stronger and better side. Scanra will not conquer us. We will fight for our camp, and I will not fail you. Thank you."  
  
She leaned to Fhire. "Come on, we have a chart to make."  
  
She nodded, and the two of them went back to Kel's study, equipped with a list of every single refugee, and a large chart.  
  
"So, what exactly are we doing?" Fhire asked.  
  
Kel sighed. "We're making a chart, saying what everyone is doing for the day, be it latrine duty, cooking duty, or field duty, everyone will have a job. The next day, they will go to the next job on the list. Understand?"  
  
Fhire nodded. "Loud and clear." She grinned. "Let's get to work."  
  
They found it hard to work, as they kept getting sidetracked by the gossip of the camp.  
  
"I should have just asked you what happened in the first place." Kel laughed.  
  
Fhire smiled. "None of the men noticed everything that was going on. They were too busy worrying about you."  
  
Kel's smile faded. "What do you mean?"  
  
Fhire shrugged. "They were afraid they'd lost you. Dom, well, Dom was the worst. I think that's why he's so uncomfortable now. He spent such a long time with you when you had no worries, then he lost you. Now that you're back, you're not what he was expecting. He was practically delusional. You know when you want something so badly, you don't think that it could possibly be bad? He forgot that you might be different."  
  
Kel was shocked. "I'm not different! I'm still me!"  
  
Fhire shook her head. "But you're you with cares, with troubles. It's not what he was expecting. He'll get over it, don't worry. He'll realize that he still loves you. You were just thrown back at him, and he wasn't ready."  
  
Kel nodded. "Fhire, it's late. We should get some sleep. We'll finish this first thing in the morning."  
  
Fhire nodded, and they both retired to their rooms. Or at least, Fhire did. Kel walked back to Dom's room, and knocked on the door.  
  
Dom answered it, looking fairly stern. "Hello, Kel."  
  
She looked at him. "Please don't be mad at me. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just had to do my job. I'm still the same Kel I was before, the same Kel that loves you."  
  
His face seemed to soften, his set jaw loosened. He opened the door wider, and Kel walked in.  
  
"You just have to understand, I can't let my relationship get in the way of my work. I am happy to spend every evening here with you, but I can't do it in the daytime. I need a separation, you understand, right?"  
  
Dom smiled. "Of course I understand. I just wasn't ready for it, that is all."  
  
He kissed her. "I love you."  
  
She grinned. "I'm glad."  
  
He closed the door behind him, as Kel sat down on his bed. "Thanks for letting me stay here last night." She lay down, resting her head on his shoulder, as he lay beside her.  
  
"No problem. It was nice." Kel smiled, and looked at him. She put her hand up to his face and brushed back his hair. His eyes didn't move to her hand, they stayed fixed on hers. She put her hand down on his chest, and sighed.  
  
"This is what I wanted." She kissed him. "This is perfect."  
  
She snuggled closer to him, and fell asleep, listening to his soft breathing.  
  
The next morning, Kel woke up, still leaning on Dom.  
  
"Mithros help me." She muttered. If anyone saw her coming out of Dom's room this early in the morning, there would be hell to pay. She looked at Dom. He was still sleeping peacefully. She shook him awake.  
  
"What? I'm up, I'm up." He sat up quickly, almost knocking Kel off the bed. "Kel, what are you doing in here?"  
  
She rolled her eyes. "I was here all night, remember?"  
  
He blushed slightly. "Oh, right. So why'd you wake me up?"  
  
Kel smiled weakly. "You have to help me get out of here without anyone seeing me."  
  
Dom raised his eyebrows, looking hurt. "You don't want people to see that you're spending time with me?"  
  
Kel smiled. "No, I don't want people to see me leaving your room after spending the night."  
  
Again, Dom blushed. "Right."  
  
Kel stood up and looked out of the small window. "It's just after dawn. There will definitely be people up by now, but luckily, I'm supposed to be up, so it's alright if I'm walking around."  
  
Dom smiled. "Why don't you just tell people that you fell asleep?"  
  
Kel gave him a look. She looked outside the door, and saw that no one was there. She turned back to Dom and kissed him, slowly. "I love you, Dom. I'll see you later. And tonight, you can come to my room." She grinned and slipped out.  
  
She was walking down the hall when she heard a voice. "Keladry!" She winced and turned around.  
  
"What do you want, Neal?" She asked, trying to be patient.  
  
"Pray tell, Lady Knight, what were you doing in my cousin's room in the wee hours of the morning?" He was grinning from ear to ear.  
  
Kel smiled weakly, hoping he would believe her. "I fell asleep in Dom's room last night."  
  
Neal looked crestfallen. "Oh, fine."  
  
Kel patted him on the shoulder. "Maybe next time, you'll have something to gossip about." She grinned and walked to the mess hall. Just as she turned the corner, she heard Dom come out of his room and laugh loudly at something Neal said.  
  
"Lady Kel, what time did you leave this morning? I knocked on your door at dawn, and you weren't there."  
  
Kel sat down beside Fhire. "If you promise to keep it a secret, I'll tell you." She whispered. Fhire nodded. "I went to Dom's room last night." She shook her head. "Nasty young mind, Fhire." She laughed. "I just talked to him, and we fell asleep." Fhire, as Neal had, looked crestfallen.  
  
Kel couldn't understand it. Was everyone expecting something to happen between them? She shook her head.  
  
Just then, she realized that she was supposed to work in the morning. "Oh, Fhire, I am so sorry! I completely forgot! Oh, I must go finish it now!" Fhire grabbed her arm.  
  
"Already done, if you don't mind. I couldn't find you, so I did it myself. Well, the sparrows helped quite a bit. In fact, they helped quite a lot." She grinned.  
  
Kel frowned. "That's not the point. I should have been doing that."  
  
Fhire grinned again. "Lady Kel, I'm your squire. It's my job to do your dirty work. Actually, it's my job to do your hard work. I'll leave the dirty stuff to Tobe."  
  
Kel looked at her. "Are you feeling alright?"  
  
Fhire shrugged. "I'm happy that everything is as it should be."  
  
Kel gulped down her oatmeal quickly. "Is the chart up?"  
  
Fhire shook her head. "In your study."  
  
Kel grinned. "Thanks. And since you are ever so helpful, you may have the morning off, until our meeting at ten o'clock. That leaves you with three hours, but please, stay somewhere where we can find you if we need to. I'll see you in my study at ten."  
  
She ran back to her rooms, cursing herself for leaving Fhire like that. She found the large chart in study, just like Fhire had said, and struggled with it all the way to the square, where she tacked it up.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Normally, I would not finish this on such a boring note, but it was getting really long.  
  
Thanks for the reviews! 


	13. What's wrong with Kel?

"Well, Lady knight, things seem to be going quite well." Dom walked up behind her.  
  
She frowned. "Don't do that."  
  
He looked slightly shocked. "What, compliment you?"  
  
"Call me Lady Knight. You know I don't like it."  
  
He shrugged. "Fine, be that way." He kissed her on the cheek. "I've got to go, I've got some work to do."  
  
He jogged out the door, narrowly missing Fhire, who was walking in.  
  
"Good morning, Lady Kel." She said, smiling.  
  
Kel looked up and smiled back at her squire. "Morning. Did I miss anything this morning?"  
  
Fhire put a finger on her chin, looking pensive. "Hmmm, let me think. Oh yes, there was a big one. Everyone gathered in the mess hall, and before we knew it. . ."  
  
Kel raised her eyebrows. "Well, what happened?"  
  
"We ate breakfast!" Fhire said, her eyes wide with mock excitement. "Seriously, you haven't been at breakfast in a few days."  
  
Kel sighed. "I'm sorry, but I've had a lot of work to do."  
  
Fhire sat down, pulling a few of the papers out from under Kel, and she started to go over them. "Neal told me that you never used to miss any meals. He said that you thought eating with the refugees was important, because it made them know you didn't think you were better than them. He said something is wrong, and I'm surprised he hasn't come to see you yet. Dom is worried too." She looked up at Kel. "They're your friends, Kel. They know you better than anyone else. I don't know you that well yet, but they do. And they've figured you out. What's wrong?"  
  
Kel leaned back in her chair. "I don't know." She sighed. "Every thing seems different now. Since I came back from Scanra, everything has changed. Not my friends, but me. I look the same, and I think I'm the same, but deep down, I can tell something has changed. Something important. I just don't know what. And it makes it feel strange to talk to my friends, to tell them things."  
  
"Why can you tell me, but no one else?" Fhire asked.  
  
Kel shrugged dramatically. "I guess because I wasn't that close with you before. I don't think that Scanra was what did it. something has been building up inside of me for a long, long time, and being kept in a jail cell for such a long time opened it up. Everything I knew before, it feels wrong now. It feels like I've changed, and I'm not right for my friends anymore."  
  
Fhire looked at her, and Kel could feel her eyes boring into her. It felt uncomfortable.  
  
Fhire shrugged. "I think you're just in shock."  
  
"WHAT?" Kel cried.  
  
"Calm down, Lady Kel. It's not that bad." She said softly. "You were in solitary confinement for such a long time, it feels strange to be back, like it isn't right. Your brain and your body aren't used to it. Give yourself a little time to work it out, and if that doesn't work, talk to Neal. He might be able to help. And for Mithros' sake, don't keep yourself locked up in here, no matter how right it feels. Spend as much time in the company of others as you can, hopefully outside, or in large spaces that aren't your rooms."  
  
Kel stared at her. How did this girl know so much? She seemed to know exactly what was wrong, and she came up with perfectly reasonable responses.  
  
Fhire seemed to read her mind. Again. "Don't look so confused, my grandfather is a healer, and he studied psychology at the University. He's told me a lot about it. (A/N I don't know if that is the term, or if it should be psychiatry, or something completely different.) He wanted me to go to the University to study, but my father said he would be proud to have another knight in the family, so he let me come."  
  
Kel nodded slowly, an Fhire stood up, dragging Kel up with her. "Come on, we're going to go around the camp, you have work to do there. But first, we're going to get you some food."  
  
They walked across the square to the mess hall, where they sat down with bowls of oatmeal. "Kel, you will get better, don't worry. Just try to relax around people. you have to remember, they all love you, and they'd all do anything for you."  
  
Kel nodded, and smiled weakly. "Thank you so much, Fhire, it's so helpful."  
  
Fhire grinned. "Don't worry, Kel, dealing with crazy people is my specialty."  
  
Kel grinned too. "Than why are you focusing on me, and not Neal?"  
  
Fhire shrugged. "He's weird, you're actually insane."  
  
Kel laughed.  
  
A few minutes later, they went back outside, and Kel slightly better. She looked at all the people around her, and she didn't feel like she should be somewhere else. She felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The next few days got better and better for Kel. She found it easier and easier to be with her friends, but she still avoided being alone with any one of them. She was quite sure that Dom wasn't very happy about it. She had barely spent any time with him. Every time they had a chance to be alone, Kel had to come up with something new to get out of it. She wasn't ready for it yet. Finally, after almost two weeks, Kel thought she was okay with being alone with him.  
  
The only problem was, she still didn't want to tell him why she'd been avoiding him. She decided to just talk to him, and not bring up why she hadn't before.  
  
She caught up with him that night, after dinner.  
  
"Dom!" She called out to him, across the square.  
  
He turned around slowly, but didn't move towards her. Puzzled, Kel ran over to him. "Dom, do you want to do something?"  
  
He looked away, then back to her. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" He asked, not looking her in the eye.  
  
Kel frowned. "What are you talking about?"  
  
He shrugged. "Doesn't matter, I'm sure you'll have something to do, I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
He walked away, leaving Kel, standing alone, in the middle of the square.  
  
She stood there for a minute, thinking. After that, she sprinted to his room. She knocked on the door. There was no answer, but she could see a candle on, so she knew that he was there. She knocked again. Nothing.  
  
"Dom, please open the door." He didn't answer.  
  
Kel felt like she was about to cry. "Please open the door, Dom. I can't fix anything if you don't tell me what's wrong."  
  
She was just about to knock again, when the door opened. Dom was standing there. He stepped back and let her in.  
  
She sat down on the bed. "What's wrong?"  
  
He sighed and sat down beside her. "You've been avoiding me."  
  
Kel frowned. "No I haven't." She took a deep breath. "I've been avoiding everyone."  
  
Dom looked puzzled. "I don't understand."  
  
Kel stood up and started pacing. "Fhire said I was in shock from my little trip to Scanra." She explained everything to him, and when she was done, he looked at her skeptically.  
  
"Kel, I'm not sure about this. Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
Kel shrugged. "I didn't tell anyone, well except Fhire, but she's a smart girl, she figured it out herself. I just wasn't comfortable with it."  
  
Dom nodded, and smiled slightly. "I think I can accept that."  
  
Kel grinned and sat down beside him. "I love you." She hugged him.  
  
Dom smiled back at her, and Kel felt such warmth that she could barely sit still. Suddenly, Dom pulled back slightly. "I want to know. . ." He paused. "I've always been there for you, right? I've always listened to your problems, and tried to help, right?"  
  
Kel nodded. "Of course!"  
  
"Can I count on you for the same thing?" Kel looked at him. He was serious.  
  
Kel gave him a hug. "Absolutely."  
  
Dom smiled. "Good to know." He kissed her forehead.  
  
Almost an hour later, Kel dragged herself away. "I'm sorry, but I actually have to go. It's late, and I have to be up early to help Fhire with her glaive work."  
  
Dom kissed her, and she seriously reconsidered leaving, but she finally left. She jogged back to her room, only to be woken up almost six hours later by a warning horn.  
  
New Hope was under attack.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I am so evil! And I'm having so much fun! I realized that Kel went back because New Hope was getting attacked so much. And I needed some action, this chapter was SERIOUSLY lacking. I'm sorry to anyone who was bored out of their minds!  
  
Valese: I'm glad you like it, and you don't know how much that means to me! I strive to write like TP, but I always suck at it. no one's ever told me that before!  
  
AJ 4EVA: glad you enjoyed it.  
  
Fhire:WAH!!!!! Evil people! hate them so much! My neighbors kitty got hit by a car, but he's okay. . . but my other neighbors cat got hit by a car and died! It was so sad, because I was at camp, and I came home, and my mom told me! Random facts about my life. . . heehee  
  
Treanz-alyce: absopositivilutely! That's pronounced abso-positivi-lutely. Mix of the two words. I definitely give you something to gossip about!  
  
Lady Bee: I'm really sorry I took so long to update. . . I've been busy.  
  
Kelly Masbolle: OOH! You're the person who's story I read last year and it was really good but it didn't end. . . but I just looked it up, and it's not there! Did you get rid of a story? I'm sure it was you. Anyway, I'm horrible, I always notice that it's bland too, and I'm trying, really I am. I've gotten the hang of it with my HP stories, I think. It's getting better, less talking, more writing. Fun!  
  
Rora Kuusou: IC instead of OOC? Am I supposed to know what that means? I thought about book titles, but I'm drawing a blank, I haven't read any in such a long time. Please explain! Anyway, sorry I took so long.  
  
Fireangel: glad you enjoyed yourself.  
  
Wake-robin: again, glad you liked it, and sorry I took so long.  
  
Well, that's about it. I want to thank you people for giving me 25 more reviews than my next highest reviewed story! (as of this point) it makes me so happy! Well, to you people, not my readers of my other stories. . . grumble. . .  
  
Happy reading!  
  
-unolimbo 


	14. Attack on New Hope

Along with the warning horn, howls of dogs and cries of women and children in the camp, there was a knock on Kel's door.  
  
The sun was just rising as she swung it open. "Fhire!" She instantly turned back around. She didn't have time to talk, she needed to put her armour on. Fhire ran in and helped her. She had been on patrol, so she was already in her fighting clothes when she heard the men yell, which was even before the horn went off.  
  
"Lady Kel, are you almost ready?" She asked impatiently.  
  
"Almost. You were on watch, tell me what's going on!" Kel said, as she pulled her armour on.  
  
Fhire reached forward and helped her latch it up, so it went quicker. "There are at least five hundred men advancing, if not more. As far as we know, they have about a hundred archers, a hundred and fifty riders, and two hundred and fifty footmen. They are advancing fast."  
  
Kel nodded. "Let's go." She sheathed her sword, grabbed her glaive, and ran outside the door.  
  
She sprinted up the steps of the wall, and found herself beside Walford and Merric. "Walford!" She said, "I want two of your units on the walls. The best archers you have, but I want them ready with their swords, just like we planned." She turned to Merric. "The refugees are scared. They think this is going to be like it was last time, and they are going to get killed, so they're not ready to fight. Get them ready and into positions, I want them on the wall!" Merric nodded and ran down the stairs, calling his soldiers to help him, before they themselves got into position.  
  
"Dom!" She yelled. She couldn't see him anywhere. She looked around the wall, and down in the square. The Scanrans were getting closer, and she wasn't ready. The horn was off, Merric had calmed the women and children, and the dogs were quiet. The Scanrans were now almost at shooting distance. The soldiers were still running to their positions, and the refugees were running around the square, getting children to safe places, and getting themselves into fighting positions. "Dom!" Kel yelled again, her voice carrying through the quiet. She finally saw him, sprinting across the square towards her.  
  
"What?" He yelled back, as he ran.  
  
"Where the hell were you? Your men need to get into position, you should have been here for commands!"  
  
Dom frowned. "I ran a bit late. I saw that the refugees and the soldiers were in their normal positions, so I sent my men to theirs. That is where you were going to send them, is it not?"  
  
Kel was slightly taken aback. "I- well, yes. Sorry about that."  
  
Dom grinned. "No problem." He turned and ran along the wall, sprinting to the other side, where his position was.  
  
Before Kel had time to think about their conversation, she realized she was waiting to go into battle. Feeling exceedingly stupid, she picked up a bow and got ready to aim. The Scanrans were getting nearer and nearer. But now, Kel was ready.  
  
She was standing atop the wall, and from the Scanrans view, she was the only person there. It must have looked like that, because they were making no moves to hide or retreat.  
  
They were almost in range for her archers. Kel stood there, a lone figure on the wall, bow raised, arrow ready to fly.  
  
"Ready!" She cried, and all of the archers pulled back their bows, still hidden. The Scanrans were almost there. . .  
  
"Aim!" She cried, paused and shouted again. "Fire!"  
  
Before the Scanrans could even put up their shields, they were showered with arrows.  
  
Almost fifty men fell, mostly archers, with a few riders and one or two foot men dropping as well.  
  
"Ready, aim, fire!" Kel yelled again, and they fired again, this time shooting down much fewer men, as the Scanrans had realized that Kel was not alone.  
  
"They're in shooting distance!" She yelled, as arrows flew around her, men shooting whenever they had a clear shot.  
  
She shot an arrow, hitting a rider square in the chest. The Scanran archers raised their bows.  
  
"Archers!" She yelled, and everybody leaned under the turrets. "Aim for the archers!" She yelled. She leaned out and shot an archer. His bow flew out of his hand, and his arrow hit another Scanran in the shoulder. Kel laughed.  
  
"What's so funny?" Dom appeared at her side.  
  
"We're winning." Kel shot a man, on a horse, in a generals colours.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The sun set on a bloody plain that night. The Scanrans had retreated out of shooting distance from New Hope, but they didn't leave. Kel knew what they were doing. They were running out of men, so they were lying in wait. When anyone tried to come out to hunt, they would get killed.  
  
They were cutting New Hope off from it's resources.  
  
Kel called a meeting atop the wall. Kel, Fhire, Dom, Walford, Merric, Neal, and Owen sat under a torch on the wall.  
  
"Alright," Kel said, "they're trying t cut us off from our resources, which means that we are not dealing with any of the same Scanrans as last time." Kel started. "We have the well, which will hold us for approximately two weeks, under good conditions. We also have the chickens, pigs, and cows. The animals all got in side through the escape holes, just like Daine trained them to.  
  
"We can't get to the crops, but we have our stores, and a few small vegetable gardens in the walls. Basically, we can outlast them. They have the stream and our crops, but that's it. They are injured, and their numbers are few. I need an update on our injured."  
  
Neal spoke up. "We've had almost twenty fatalities, and about fifteen people with small injuries. A few arrows in shoulders, legs, and grazing shots. In other words, we are doing very well, compared to the enemy."  
  
Kel nodded.  
  
"I don't know if we can outlast them." Said Dom. Everyone looked at him. "Although we have watches, they could send someone at any time to call for reinforcements. They can also destroy all of our crops, which will mean we won't last very long once they're gone. We need to send a party out to knock them off."  
  
Merric shook his head. "We can't put our men in unnecessary danger."  
  
"You have to sacrifice. Put those few lives in danger, save the rest."  
  
Kel sat back and listened to the arguments. She was tired, and she couldn't think of a better plan than Dom's. she was just going to go to sleep, and hope she could come up with something better.  
  
"I like it." She announced.  
  
Everyone looked at her.  
  
"We send a few people out soon, while it's still dark. They knock off as many men as they can, while the Scanrans are still recuperating. They only have about a hundred men left. If we stay above them, we can probably kill about twenty in one go, if we have enough men."  
  
Dom nodded. "We send out our best archers, the Own. That way, if they get advanced upon, they can handle themselves until they get inside."  
  
Kel stood up. "It's agreed, then. Dom, I don't want all of the Own out there, just in case. Take fifteen men, plus ten of Walford's men." She turned to Walford. "Tell them to accept orders from Commander Domitan."  
  
Walford nodded.  
  
"Dom, I'm going to come with you."  
  
Neal frowned. "Don't you think you should stay here?"  
  
Kel looked at him. Why shouldn't she get to fight? Did Neal, after all these years, think she was inadequate?  
  
"Kel, you're the commander of this camp. If something happens to you, we're at a loss."  
  
Kel shook her head. "Nice try." She grinned. "I was kidnapped, remember? You did plenty fine without me. Besides, I'm a better archer than anyone of Dom's men."  
  
Fhire also stood up. "So am I!" She elbowed Kel lightly and muttered, "I do get to come, right?"  
  
Kel smiled weakly. "Sure."  
  
Almost two hours later, Kel galloped back into the camp. "Perfect!" She yelled. She looked behind her at the victorious party. A few men were bleeding profusely, looking pale. Fhire had a long scratch across her face.  
  
"How'd it go?" Neal asked, as he cleaned up Fhire's scratch.  
  
Kel was leaning against the doorway to the infirmary. "Quite good, actually. We did better than we expected, we got them all. We brought two back for information. We only lost three men, out of the entire party of twenty-eight."  
  
Neal smiled. "Only you could pull that off."  
  
Fhire winced. "I could too."  
  
Neal looked at her. "I wasn't this rude to my elders when I was a squire." He frowned.  
  
Kel smiled weakly. "Yes you were."  
  
"Oh. Right."  
  
Kel said goodbye to them and went to look for Dom. She didn't find him in the camp, so she looked outside. She found him helping Merric's men clean up the bodies and burn them.  
  
"How's this fun job going?" Kel asked.  
  
Dom smiled and stood up, stretching. "Great fun." He looked her in the eye. "You did a great job yesterday. Last night. This morning. Whatever."  
  
Kel smiled. "I always do." She laughed. "And so do you." She kissed him. "  
  
"Hey you two, there's work to be done!" Merric yelled, making Kel blush, and making all the men laugh.  
  
"I'll get you, Hollyrose!" (A/N I think that's his fief) She cried. She ran over to him. He dropped the wood he was carrying and ran. Dom followed them.  
  
Kel caught up with him at the stream and pushed him into it. She stood there, laughing, as Dom ran up.  
  
Merric looked at them, trying to frown, but not able to. He looked Dom in the eye.  
  
"Sorry, mate," said Dom, "but I'm far more afraid of what she'd do to me if I helped you."  
  
Kel laughed. She wrapped her arms around him. "Who said you had to help him?" She whispered. His eyes grew wide, and she pushed him in too. But not before he could grab her wrist and drag her in as well.  
  
She shrieked. "How dare you! I'm your superior!" She cried, as Merric scrambled out of the way.  
  
They sat there in the water, unable to move, they were laughing so hard, until all of them were soaked through, cold, and ready to fall into warm baths.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Huzzah for finishing another chapter! Wow, I love you guys! I have almost 90 reviews, and I'm only up to thirteen chapters posted! Wow!  
  
PoisonMoon: glad you enjoyed it. I think it's hard to say that someone's story isn't original on fanfiction. Isn't it sort of the point that it's not? The plot should be, but think about it: there are almost 4000 stories for Tamora Pierce. Think about how hard it is to think up new ones. I think I did a pretty darn good job.  
  
Rora Kuusou: that makes sense! Thanks for explaining that to me. It made perfect sense both times, don't worry.  
  
Katie: thanks. I don't email people when I update, if you want to know, you can sign up and put me on your authors alert list (which I proudly say 25 people have done).  
  
Wake-Robin: not sure how to answer this. Thanks, I guess.  
  
Treanz-alyce: darn right I'm evil! I've been saying this forever, but no one ever seems to believe me!the whole thing about it coming to a close, I don't actually plan on ever doing that. I'm never, EVER happy with the endings of books, stories, movies, etc. I also enjoy writing them. So, I plan to keep coming up with new things for Kel to do, until I either get bored of this story, or feel I've exhausted the characters, as I've developed them. (i.e. I decide I want a story where Dom and Kel are not together. YEAH RIGHT! That's like my favourite thing ever)  
  
Helsuzaba: Thank you. I guess I can answer your query with the previous thing I wrote. I don't plan on anything. I just let it happen. Sometimes they're amazing, sometimes they're okay, and sometimes they suck. It all depends. I'm not great at writing romance as stuff (oh yeah, cuz I'm a real expert on romance) so I try to not write too, too much on it, and that's basically what their relationship is, right?  
  
Dancerkel12: thanks!  
  
Molly:I'm fine, thank you. I'm just getting a lot of work right now. I take some grade twelve courses that are getting serious, and various other school work to do, so I don't have time to write that often. When I do write, I write what comes into my head, because I write because I like to. Essentially, I don't have anything planned, which may mean that this isn't the story for you. I'm for the person who likes continuing story lines, that don't just have a start or finish, but chronicle Kel's life, including the less adventurous bits. I don't really understand what you mean by my style. My writing style? Because that's just me, so it's kind of hard to get sloppy in it, I think. My story itself? I'm not sure. But I do my best anyway!  
  
Lady Bee: I'm so glad someone feels my pain! Hope you enjoyed it!  
  
AJ 4EVA: don't worry I did, and I will.  
  
Legofiance: I love the name! (is that Lego, or legolas? Cuz either is great) oh don't worry, this will be long. There is no foreseen end, it's like the energizer rabbit. It keeps going, and going, and going. . .  
  
Wow. . . I went a little overboard on the notes there, sorry to the people who don't like those. That's why I write them all at the end. I hate having to scan through dozens of personal notes just to find the story! With me, I'm right up front, but you can still find any notes, and I've taken to writing to every person who reviews, not just the people who ask questions!  
  
Happy reading!  
  
-unolimbo 


	15. battles and birthdays

Kel sank into her bathtub, soothing her aching muscles. But she should have known her comfort wouldn't last long. There was a knock on the door.  
  
Kel sighed. "One moment." She called out. She dragged herself out of the tub, and wrapped a robe around herself. "Why do people always catch me in the bath?" She muttered.  
  
She opened the door a crack. "Hello, Lady Kel." Fhire grinned. "I'm sorry to bother you, but you need to explain all of this to the refugees. They need some moral support. You really should talk to them. They need you."  
  
Kel sighed again. "Fine, come in, I'll just be a moment."  
  
She closed the door behind Fhire and disappeared behind her screen. "Are you happy with the way everything turned out, Lady Kel?" Fhire asked.  
  
Kel shrugged. "I guess I'm just happy it's over. It was short, and we lost few men, but battles are always exhausting."  
  
"Short? That was short?" Fhire asked.  
  
Kel laughed. "It wasn't too short, for a battle. But for an attack on a camp, it was incredibly quick. It's usually that the attackers set up camp and stay there for a few days. But they let too many of their men get killed first. And they weren't ready for our kind of thought."  
  
Fhire laughed as well. "It is too true."  
  
A few minutes later, they emerged into the busy square. Fhire was right; although they knew the battle was over, the refugees were still nervous, crowding in the square almost silently.  
  
Kel stood in the centre of the square, where she always stood for these sort of things. Neal, still looking slightly weak from healing, was standing there, along with Dom, Merric, Owen, and Captain Walford.  
  
"I feel so silly," Kel whispered to Fhire, "I feel like I should have prepared a speech. Everyone is so formal!"  
  
Fhire grinned. "You'll do fine. Why does everyone need to give you encouragement? You are supposed to be the confident one!"  
  
Kel frowned. "I didn't say I couldn't do it, I just said it made me feel silly!"  
  
Fhire rolled her eyes and stepped back. Kel was left with nothing left to do but talk.  
  
"Err- May I have your attention please!" Kel said, but everyone was watching her anyway. "Yes, well. I am sure you all want to know about the outcome of this battle. We did remarkably well, losing very few men. We mourn the men we lost, and they will receive proper burials on the outside of the gates.  
  
"This battle is over, but the war is not. There will be more battles like this one, and we are going to continue our training so that we can defeat them even more easily than we can now. I am proud to say that I am the commander of this camp. I am proud to say that every single on of you can fight. Proud to say that every woman can hold a sword or a spear. Proud to say that every child learns how to shoot with a bow, or fight with a staff.  
  
"I am proud," Kel said, "to say that we will win this war, and every single one of you will help. Whether in life or death, you will help."  
  
A few people clapped. Kel stepped down, and the refugees dispersed, happy with Kel's answer.  
  
Dom grinned. "How are you so good at that?" He asked, shaking his head. Kel just grinned back.  
  
Owen and Merric helped Neal get back to his room, so he could rest. He was looking a little green from all his healing. Fhire went back to her own room to rest, leaving Kel and Dom alone.  
  
"Would you like to go for a ride?" Dom asked.  
  
Kel frowned. "I think I need some food first." She could hear her stomach growling. "Let's get a picnic!"  
  
Dom grinned. "Sure, why not."  
  
A few minutes later, they rode out the front gate. "You know, this may not be the most romantic of picnics, what with the smell, and sight, of bodies."  
  
Kel smiled. "It's all part of the charm of the forest. You never know what you are going to find."  
  
They rode around the camp, to the forest that was not contaminated by Scanran blood. They settled by the stream, leaving their horses to graze in a patch of grass.  
  
Kel lay down on the blanket. Dom poked her in the ribs. "You're not going to fall asleep on me, are you?"  
  
Kel smiled. "No," She moved over so her head was in his lap. "Now I am."  
  
Dom laughed. "So very funny. Come on, have something to eat."  
  
Kel reluctantly sat up. "Fine." She mumbled, biting forcefully into a sandwich. Dom laughed.  
  
"That's my girl. Now, I don't want to have to tell you to eat your vegetables."  
  
At this, Kel laughed too. As well as Neal, Kel was constantly telling Dom to eat his greens.  
  
They lay on the blanket for a long time, just watching the clouds roll slowly by, talking quietly. After a while, Kel fell asleep. She hadn't slept since they were attacked, which was the morning before. The blanket seemed like the perfect bed, warm and scratchy under her skin.  
  
When Kel woke up, the sun was setting. She sat up slowly and looked around. She was bathed in yellow light from the sun setting, but it was getting cold. Kel shivered. She looked at Dom, who was asleep right beside her. It felt horrible to wake him up.  
  
She kissed him. "Dom." She whispered, kissing him again. "Wake up."  
  
He smiled and rolled over. "Good morning." He muttered.  
  
Kel giggled. "It's not morning, you fool." She kissed him again. "It's evening. We have to get back to camp."  
  
Dom looked up at her. "But this is so comfortable."  
  
Kel smiled. "we'll have to do it again some time, when we're not so tired."  
  
They stood up slowly, and got on their horses. "Oh, the blanket was definitely more comfortable." Dom laughed.  
  
Kel kicked Peachblossom softly, really just a tap, and they were off, galloping back to the camp. They rode in the front gates a moment later.  
  
Kel walked back to her room alone. All she wanted to do was sleep some more. It seemed most of the camp had the same idea. Even the scouts were dozing off.  
  
Just as she sat down on her bed, there was a knock on the door. "Come in." Kel said, and Fhire slipped in, grinning.  
  
Kel smiled. "Why aren't you sleeping?"  
  
Fhire laughed. "Because it's early evening. Besides, since you and Dom both disappeared, and Neal was resting from all his healing, Merric told me to be in charge because he wanted to sleep."  
  
Kel smiled. "Good idea."  
  
Fhire sat down beside her. "I just saw Dom go back to his room. What were you doing?"  
  
Kel fell over onto her pillow, having trouble staying awake. "We had a picnic."  
  
"For seven hours? There was more than that."  
  
Kel raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little young to say that?" she asked. "Anyway, we were having a picnic by the stream, and we fell asleep. That's it."  
  
Fhire stood up. "Fine. Keep your secrets, then."  
  
Kel smiled. "If I wasn't so bloody tired, I would knock the stuffing out of you."  
  
Fhire laughed. "Goodnight, Lady Kel."  
  
"Call me if you need anymf. . ." Kel fell asleep mid-sentence. Fhire shook her head, laughing, and closed the door behind her.  
  
Kel woke the next morning feeling refreshed. It was early, and there were sparrows pecking at her, and Jump was already barking.  
  
"Alright, alright." She muttered, sitting up. "Why are you so lively this morning?" then she realized, of course, they had not been fed in quite a while. Jump had probably had his share of Scanran the night before, and the sparrows could probably scrounge things from the fields, but they were still dependent on her.  
  
She gave the sparrows some seeds, and fed Jump before she went to the mess hall for breakfast. Neal was already there, so she sat down beside him.  
  
"You're here quite early." Neal said. It was true; it was barely sunrise.  
  
Kel shrugged. "I got to sleep very early last night. It was barely sunset. And I spent the entire afternoon sleeping."  
  
Neal raised an eyebrow. "That's not what Fhire said."  
  
Kel blushed slightly. "She was up quite late last night, wasn't she?"  
  
Neal nodded. "I think she's had about five hours of sleep in the last two three nights."  
  
Kel grinned. "Perfect. Excuse me, I have to go wake her up."  
  
Before Neal could question her, Kel got up and walked quickly to Fhire's room. She knocked on the door. There was no answer, but she could hear Triaxx scraping around at the door, obviously alert to the guest.  
  
Kel tried the door. It was unlocked. "Perfect." She whispered. Triaxx cocked her head at Kel, but she held a finger to her lips. Triaxx sat down and panted. Kel walked over to Fhire's bed slowly. She didn't wake up.  
  
Kel stopped. What exactly was she planning to do? She hadn't thought that far. She eventually decided on just pulling her blanket off of her and making her get up.  
  
"Rise and shine, little squire!" She said loudly, yanking at the blanket. Fhire moaned and rolled over. She certainly was sleep deprived. Otherwise, she would always listen to Kel when she called her 'squire.'" Kel shook her. "Get up!" She moaned again.  
  
Kel walked to the bathroom and found that Fhire had not used her washbasin the night before, so it was filled with clean, cold water. Kel took it out of the bathroom and put it on the floor. Deciding to be nice, she picked Fhire up, and sat her on the floor. That seemed to wake her up quite a bit.  
  
"What are you doing, Lady Kel?" She muttered.  
  
Kel grinned. "One moment." She took the washbasin and dumped it over Fhire's head. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the water coming towards her.  
  
"AHHHHH!" She screamed.  
  
Kel couldn't stop laughing. "That was beautiful. It woke you up before it even hit you!"  
  
Fhire frowned, sputtering water. "Am I allowed to say profanities around you?"  
  
Kel shook her head, still laughing. "No, that would definitely put a black mark on your record."  
  
Fhire continued to frown. "Fine." She looked up at Kel, who had finally stopped laughing and handed her a towel.  
  
"Why did you do that?" She asked, drying herself off. 'Especially after the amount of sleep I've had."  
  
Kel smiled. "Normally, I would have let you sleep. You're my squire, you're no good to me half alive. But then, of course, I talked to Neal."  
  
Fhire smiled sheepishly. "Oh."  
  
"Oh, indeed. Seriously, though, as my squire, you should be treating me with respect. You should not be talking to my friends like that. In fact, you should not be talking to me like that."  
  
Fhire nodded. "All the boys do!"  
  
Kel looked at her. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I was visiting my sister and her husband my last summer home, and he had a squire. I went on a trip with them, and I heard them talk like that a few times. And I've heard boys talk to knights like that at the palace, but not too often. Not in public, at least."  
  
Kel shook her head in disbelief. "I think it's a little different for men. Anyway, we won't talk about it again, unless it's important, alright?"  
  
Fhire nodded. "What is considered important?"  
  
Kel grinned. "That depends."  
  
Fhire decided not to go back to bed, seeing as her room was sopping wet, so she got dressed. They mopped up her room together and made their way back to the mess hall.  
  
Kel sat back down beside Neal. "Have I missed anything?" She asked. The table was almost filled.  
  
"SO what did you do to her?" Neal asked.  
  
Fhire sat down across from them. "She soaked me with a washbasin."  
  
Neal laughed. "Nice."  
  
Kel laughed too. "That's my boy, Neal. Always rooting for the right team."  
  
They finished their breakfast, and Kel and Fhire went into the square to practice. "Shall we start with swords or glaives today?" Kel asked.  
  
Fhire smiled. "I've been using my sword a lot in the last few days, let's go with the glaives."  
  
Kel nodded, and tossed her a glaive. "Ready?" She asked, stepping back and forth.  
  
Fhire nodded, gripping her glaive. "Let's go."  
  
They darted around the square, forward and backward, side to side. They jabbed, they swiped, they dodged. They also generated a crowd. Kel had learned that people liked to watch practices, especially between women, though she couldn't understand why that made a difference. The glaives did as well, they moved quickly and swiftly, and people liked to watch them.  
  
Fhire was backing Kel up to a wall. Kel hadn't been paying enough attention. She moved her grip and straightened up. Her moves got faster, smoother. A moment later, Fhire was on the ground with Kel's glaive at her throat.  
  
"Fine, you win." She said, panting.  
  
Kel lifted her glaive. A few people clapped, and they dispersed.  
  
Kel held her hand out to Fhire, who took it. "That was good. You're getting better. You had me working for a minute. I don't think I was paying enough attention. You need to work on your grip. It's too low, so you don't have very much control. You've got the power, but power is nothing if you can't aim. Besides, you're already a strong girl, you've got power. Just keep your hand high, and you'll do way better. You'll be faster, too."  
  
Fhire nodded. "Thank you."  
  
Kel smiled. "No problem. That's what I'm here for."  
  
Kel spent the rest of the morning working. She had promised herself that she would do all the work that the refugees had to do, and she kept her promise. Today she was on the fields, one of the two places that she was almost no help.  
  
"Come on, Lady Kel!" Tobe called out from behind his plough. "You can do better than that!"  
  
Kel looked at the work she had done. Three curvy lines down the field. Tobe, weighing in at about half of Kel's weight, had ploughed almost six straight lines.  
  
Kel sighed. "Tobe, not to be rude, but do shut up. I'm doing my best!"  
  
A few hours later, they both dragged their sweaty feet into the camp.  
  
"Very nice look, Kel." Dom said from behind her.  
  
She turned around and glared at him. "Don't even start, Dom." She shook her head. "Before I came to this camp the first time, I never knew how hard farmers have it. They have it worse than knights."  
  
Dom laughed. "You did a wonderful ploughing job. So it's tiring. You'll get better. And you have plenty of skills already."  
  
Kel smiled. "Thank you." She kissed him.  
  
"Kel!" Fhire called. Kel reluctantly turned from Dom.  
  
"Fhire, hello!" She hissed.  
  
"Kel, I was wondering if we're going to work tonight. I really need to work on my steps with the glaive and I thought that tonight would be perfect, because neither of us-"  
  
"No!" Kel said quickly. She glanced at Dom. "I mean, I'm really tired, and I think we should take a break and- that's basically it."  
  
Fhire nodded slowly.  
  
Kel grinned and grabbed Dom by the wrist, dragging him away before Fhire could say anything.  
  
"That was mean, Lady Knight." Dom grinned, when they got into Kel's room.  
  
Kel smiled and kissed him. "You're right. But it was definitely worth it."  
  
Dom wrapped his arms around her. "You are very strange, Kel."  
  
She laughed. "It's part of my charm."  
  
* * * * *  
  
"So Kel, any plans for today?" Neal asked.  
  
Kel shook her head as she ate her oatmeal. "Nothing special. We're just going to work like we normally do."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "No we're not."  
  
Kel looked at him. "Why?"  
  
"It's you're birthday, Kel."  
  
Fhire looked up. "Is it? That's wonderful! How old are you, Kel?"  
  
Kel looked at Neal. "Goodness, I didn't even realize." She shrugged. "Oh well." She went back to her oatmeal.  
  
"Kel, you didn't answer my question." Fhire said.  
  
She sighed. "Twenty-six." She looked at them. "I feel so old."  
  
Neal laughed. "Kel, you do realize that on my next birthday, I turn thirty? And on Dom's next birthday, he turns thirty-one?" (A/N: in the books, I think he's older than that, but I think it's kind of creepy that he was so old. . . so, I made him younger. . . and he's still six years older than her!)  
  
Kel smiled. "I guess it's not that bad."  
  
Fhire laughed. "And now I feel so young!"  
  
Neal glared at her. "Please don't make me punch you."  
  
Dom sat down. "Now, why would you want to punch this lovely girl?"  
  
Neal glared at him as well. "She made me feel old. It was very depressing."  
  
Kel sighed. "You'd look younger if you ate your vegetables."  
  
Neal frowned. "I don't know why I put up with this."  
  
Kel laughed. She truly had forgotten it was her birthday. It was fairly exciting, actually. She hadn't had a real birthday in years, and it would be fun. That is, of course, if anyone was planning anything.  
  
"Well, I've got to start working. I'll see you guys later." She kissed Dom on the cheek as she stood up. "Bye."  
  
She spent the rest of the morning tending to horses. It was one of her favourite jobs. She spent a little amount of time scooping up the horse manure and rolling hay bales, but then she got to groom the horses for hours, just standing with them, running the brushes over their backs.  
  
The only problem was, when she finished, she smelled horrible.  
  
She forced herself to have a bath before she did anything else after lunch. She sank into the tub and sat for what felt like hours, finally emerging and dressing only moments before there was a knock at her door.  
  
"Hello, Kel." Dom grinned.  
  
Kel smiled. "Dom. How can I help you?"  
  
"I was wondering if I could interest you in dinner."  
  
Kel looked at him. "Dom, we eat dinner every night."  
  
They looked at each other for a moment, until Dom finally flinched. "Okay, look. I just wanted to invite you tonight, alright?"  
  
Kel smiled. "Fine with me." She said, as they walked out the door.  
  
Dom grinned as they got to the mess hall. "I'm glad you agreed, because you certainly cannot show up at a party without an escort!"  
  
Kel's eyes widened. "Date?"  
  
Before she could turn around, he had thrust her into the dining hall. It wasn't what she expected. Everything was completely normal. The way Dom had acted, she had thought there would be a surprise party, or something. None of her friends were even in the room yet.  
  
"Did I crush your hopes and dreams?" Dom asked, squeezing her.  
  
She smiled weakly and nodded.  
  
He gave her a real hug. "I'm sorry, Kel. But everyone is busy. Merric, Fhire, and Owen are all on watch tonight, and Neal is in the infirmary. One of the children is very sick. I guess it's just you and me."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Hey," said Dom, "why don't we grab some food and eat outside? That would be nice."  
  
She smiled. Quiet would be nice.  
  
They grabbed some food and went outside. It was pretty dark. "Where is there enough light?" Kel asked.  
  
Dom smiled. "Just follow me. It will be fine." He took her hand and led her to the back of the camp, to the large empty area behind the buildings, which they often used for weapons practice. "This is perfect." He said.  
  
Kel laughed. "Dom, you can't see anything."  
  
He laughed. "So?"  
  
Kel laughed. "You are so- AHH!" She felt someone grab her arm. She grabbed the hand and flipped the person. He groaned.  
  
Dom laughed. "I think you got him." Someone lit a candle. Kel looked at the ground.  
  
"Mithros, Neal!" She said. He was lying on the ground, groaning.  
  
"I think she broke something." He gasped.  
  
Dom laughed. "Pretty likely."  
  
Kel put her hand to her mouth. "I am so sorry!" She helped him up. "Are you alright?"  
  
He nodded. "I'll get over it."  
  
Kel looked up. "Oh!" She said. There were people all around her. She elbowed Dom. "What is going on?"  
  
He shrugged. "No idea." He said.  
  
Fhire rolled her eyes. "No idea my foot. It was his idea in the first place." She looked at Kel. "And you ruined our surprise. Oh well. We'll do it anyway." Someone put out the candle. A moment later, they lit it again.  
  
"Surprise!" Everyone yelled.  
  
Kel laughed. "Thank you." She said. "But why are we out here?" She looked around, and saw that there was a table set up outside, and a few people were lighting candles on it.  
  
Neal grinned. "We wanted you to have a great dinner." He winced. "Though I may have to go soak a bit before I can join you."  
  
Dom shrugged. "It's alright. No loss."  
  
Neal frowned.  
  
Fhire stepped forward. "Sibling- err, cousin- rivalry can wait. Let's eat, I want to have the cake!"  
  
They sat around the table, with Kel at the head. She looked around. There were eight people there. Neal, Dom, Fhire, Merric, Owen, Tobe, Walford, and of course, Kel herself. She had a delightful dinner, talking and laughing the entire time.  
  
Tobe stood up after they had gotten rid of their dirty dishes. "Excuse me, my Lady." He said, leaving the table.  
  
A moment later, Fhire stood as well. "Excuse me, Lady Kel." Kel nodded, and Fhire disappeared. Kel didn't really care where they had gone.  
  
A few minutes later, they emerged- carrying a cake. Everyone sang, and Kel cut the cake.  
  
It was the perfect night for a party. The air was warm, and the dirt smelled fresh, like mud after a spring rain. There were scattered clouds, and there was a bright, full moon, which greatly helped light their table.  
  
The table was one of the tables from the mess hall. It had scratch marks on it from people dropping forks and knives, and little etchings of names and pictures on the legs and underside. Kel could feel them when she pulled her chair in, running her hand over the grainy thick wood.  
  
After a while, Kel noticed it getting darker. She looked up, and saw great grey clouds blocking the moon. She frowned.  
  
"What's wrong?" Dom asked quietly, leaning in to her.  
  
She grimaced. "It's going to rain." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I really feel like I've responded to these reviews before. If I have, I'm sorry- but my internet isn't working well, so I can't check.  
  
PsychoLioness13: Glad you enjoyed it.  
  
Treanz-alyce: oy- 130 reviews for 5 chapters? That is so not fair! Why don't I have 130 reviews?  
  
AJ 4EVA: I can indeed write more. Sorry it took so long, I was on a Harry Potter kick. I think I might be back to Tamora Pierce, though.  
  
Legofiance: very cool indeed...  
  
Fhire: interesting....*backing away slowly...and run!!!*  
  
Big Splash: Cool. Thanks for reviewing.  
  
Lotrfreek: I don't know... she is still a fun person, she's not all work and no play.  
  
Wake-Robin: I NEVER make sense. Ever.  
  
rOmAnCe-LuVeR: err, I was thinking of having Cleon be, well, less evil. He's not actually in it, as far as I can remember. PsychoLioness13: absolutely.  
  
Moooose: yeah, I know... I'm planning something extra special for the next chapter... will that be good special, or bad special? Only I know! Actually, no I don't...but I will soon.  
  
Ophelia-waterhouse: see above, please! 


	16. harvest departures

The camp was buzzing. It was harvest time, and, as they were on the Scanran border, they needed to fill their stores before winter came.  
  
"How are we doing?" Kel asked Owen, whom she had put in charge of the stores.  
  
He looked over the charts. "Not bad. We have enough food to last us most of winter, with very, very careful rationing. We could always stand to have more."  
  
Kel nodded. "I think we're doing pretty well, actually. As long as we don't get anything major that can wipe them out, these stores will last."  
  
Owen grinned. "Fat chance getting attacked in the middle of winter. Even the Scanrans know they can't survive in this snow."  
  
Kel smiled. "I just hope we can."  
  
She waved goodbye to him and went to her study. She sighed as she looked at her desk. It was so covered in clutter that she could barely see it. Weapons lay out; letters and documents were spread around the room; tea cups and pots sat askew on end tables and shelves; books were on the floor, no longer in their rightful place and Kel was sure she had less furniture than usual.  
  
She bent down and started to clean up. There was a sharp knocking on the door. "Come in." Said Kel, not looking up from her cleaning.  
  
"Good morning, Lady Kel." Fhire said. "Is there something I can help you with?"  
  
Kel bent over and looked at Fhire upside down. She smiled, feeling slightly dizzy from the blood rushing to her head. She stood up. "I realized that my study is a complete pigsty. I cannot imagine that I have been working in these conditions."  
  
Fhire smiled weakly.  
  
"Are you free? Do I need to assign you to something?" Kel asked, not excited at having to find a job for Fhire.  
  
Fhire shook her head. "I could just help you." She said.  
  
Kel stood up. "Would you?" She asked hopefully. "I do have a lot of work to do."  
  
Fhire smiled. "That's my job, Lady Kel. You don't have to ask if I would or not, you know."  
  
Kel shrugged. "I believe in treating everyone the same. I treat you no worse than I treat other knights. Who knows," she laughed, "You could be commanding me one day."  
  
Fhire smiled, and Kel went outside to do her work. She stood outside her door and looked around. Sheep had been brought in from the fields, and there were women spinning and knitting warm clothes for the winter in one corner of the camp. Kel jogged over to them to check up.  
  
One of the young girls playing by the women stood up and ran over to her. "Good morning, Lady Kel!" She did a clumsy curtsey. Kel smiled.  
  
"Good morning. What's your name?" She asked. She felt extremely guilty that she didn't know the young girl's name, but she asked anyway.  
  
"I'm Sari, My Lady. That's my mother," she said, pointing exuberantly at one of the ladies behind a spinning wheel, a young woman, no older than thirty, wearing a tattered rag of a shawl over her faded blue dress. She looked up and smiled at Kel.  
  
Kel walked over to the women. She looked at Sari's mother. Up close she could see that the woman's shawl was completely threadbare.  
  
"Excuse me," Kel said, and the woman looked up, "why have you not gone to the stores for a new shawl? You must be freezing."  
  
The woman smiled weakly. "Thank you, My Lady, but I'm fine. There are children, and elderly, and sick who need the warmth much more than I do."  
  
Kel shook her head. "Once it is colder, you are going to get deathly ill from the cold, and then we will have an even bigger problem with the sick. Please, go to the stores and ask Sir Owen for a new shawl, or even a warm cloak. Do you understand?"  
  
The lady nodded. "Thank you, my lady."  
  
Kel turned back to Sari. She leaned down to the young girl. "How old are you, Sari?" She asked.  
  
Sari rocked back and forth on her heels, her eyes wide. "Almost seven my lady."  
  
Kel smiled. "You're almost old enough to learn how to fight, Sari. Let me see your muscles. Here," she said, "let me feel your muscles."  
  
Sari proudly held up her arm for Kel to squeeze. "Wow!" Kel said, as she felt the young girls arm. "You should join us in training tomorrow." She glanced up at her mother. "If that's alright with your mother, of course."  
  
The woman smiled, and Sari ran up to her. "Please, mama, please?" She asked, shaking her mothers arm.  
  
"Of course, Sari. I'm always glad to be able to help everyone," she added to Kel, "even if it's not me directly."  
  
Kel stood up. "Keep up the good work, ladies. You are making very good time. At this rate, we should have about enough to scrape through winter."  
  
Sari ran up to her and hugged her legs, surprising Kel greatly, and almost knocking her over. "Thank you, my lady."  
  
Kel laughed. "You're welcome." Kel said, and Sari ran back to play with the babies by her mother.  
  
Kel turned and walked away.  
  
"She'll make a wonderful mother one day." One of the women said quietly. The other women all murmured in agreement.  
  
Kel heard them, and walked away a bit faster, feeling the colour rise in her face.  
  
Dom ran up behind her a moment later. "They're right, you know."  
  
Kel's mouth fell open. "Excuse me? You were eavesdropping?"  
  
Dom shook his head, frowning. "No, I just happened to over hear as I was going about my daily duties."  
  
Kel hit him, grinning. "Well, I need to give you harder work."  
  
He grunted. "What did I hear?" I didn't hear anything, I was working too hard."  
  
Kel rolled her eyes. "I have work to do."  
  
She kept walking, but stopped in her tracks. "What did you mean, they were right?" She said, her eyes closed. She turned around to face him. Dom smiled and turned, walking briskly in the other direction.  
  
"Dom!" Kel cried.  
  
He turned around, still walking, and gave her a cheery little wave, before continuing on his way.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Winter came. It was the coldest winter Kel had ever experienced. Whenever she stepped outside, her breath froze in her mouth, and her skin turned so numb that she could not work a bow and arrow. The children still continued their weapons training, but as there was too much snow outside to practice their steps, and it was too cold to hold a sword or a glaive properly, they practiced in the mess hall.  
  
"Alright, everyone grab a wooden sword!" Kel said to the children.  
  
They all scrambled to the table and picked up a sword. There were so many children learning now, that they constantly had to make new swords. Kel wasn't too worried about the wooden ones. She was more worried about the real swords. They had a small blacksmiths, for repairing armour, and making horseshoes, but making new armour and swords was complicated work. They would soon need more swords, and they wouldn't have any. She shook off the thought and got back to the matter at hand.  
  
"Alright! Everyone here has been practicing since at least October, which means almost two months of work. We're going to do some testing now."  
  
All of the children's eyes grew wide. Kel smiled. "You're not going to get into partners today." She threw her arm back, showing the group she brought in with her. Fhire, Neal, Dom, and Merric were standing there.  
  
"I would liked to have gotten more people to help us out, but everyone was on duty." Kel said. "You are going to fight against them."  
  
One of the girls gave a little shriek.  
  
Kel laughed out loud, but then felt badly about it. "Don't worry, they're going to be using wooden swords, also."  
  
She walked around, watching them. They were amazing. They had been training for two months, and some of the older children, the teenagers, were actually posing a threat to Kel's friends.  
  
She laughed as Tobe cornered Neal, who was slightly tired at the time from helping so many people with influenza. Dom and Merric held their ground quite easily, but Fhire had a pretty good battle with a young boy, about fourteen, who was almost a foot taller than her.  
  
Kel laughed, looking over them.  
  
"What's your name, boy?" She asked, though she already knew.  
  
"Jeremy." He grunted.  
  
"Come on, Jeremy, what are you doing here with the children? I'm putting you to work with the men! You shouldn't be here with the girls!"  
  
She got the reaction she wanted. Jeremy got cocky, and Fhire got the upper hand.  
  
"Oh," Kel scolded, "maybe you do deserve to be here with the girls. I want to see something better than this."  
  
She continued on. A few minutes later, she called everyone together again. The children sat down on the floor, exhausted. Dom was leaning against the table, Merric was standing up, but wheezing slightly, Fhire sat down on the floor with the children, looking like she was ready to fall asleep, and Neal collapsed on a chair, doubled over, breathing heavily.  
  
Kel shook her head. "You all did a good job, but not good enough. If I said you were doing well, you got cocky. That's no good. If you fell behind even a little bit, you lost your confidence. Work on your speed and skills, like we do every time, and maybe next time we test, these four will be on the ground.  
  
Dom stood up. "I think we should do it again right now. You, against all of them." He nodded towards the pile of children.  
  
Kel raised an eyebrow. "How about not?"  
  
Fhire laughed. "I could take you."  
  
Kel chose to ignore that comment. "Go get yourselves washed up." She said, and all the children ran back to the barracks to get washed up.  
  
Kel sat down beside Dom as Neal, Merric, and Fhire walked out. "You know, this is pretty exhausting." She said. "All this talking, and teaching."  
  
Dom put his head back. "If I wasn't so tired, I would punch you." He said.  
  
Kel laughed and kissed him. "Do you still want to punch you?"  
  
Dom kept his eyes closed, like he was about to fall asleep. "Yes." He said.  
  
Kel smiled. She put her head down on his chest and listened to his breathing. "What do you see in the future?" Kel asked quietly.  
  
Dom groaned about having to talk. "I see a warm bed, and good midwinter gifts."  
  
Kel hit him softly in the belly with the palm of her hand. It was light enough that he didn't flinch. "I'm serious. What do you see?"  
  
Dom ran his hand through her hair. "I don't see anything in particular. I can't say, 'I see us having a fight around the seventh' or anything like that. I can't say I see us together forever, because I have no idea. That's the wonderful thing about the future. No one knows what it holds."  
  
Kel sat up. "What if I want to know?" She asked.  
  
Dom smiled and kissed her. "You'll just have to wait. Look, we're in the future now. I see are relationship moving towards my room, so I can go to sleep now." He kissed her again. "Good night, Kel."  
  
She smiled and gave him a hug. "Good night, Dom."  
  
The next day, post came. Kel watched as her friends read over their mail, their eyes shining. Neal had gotten a letter from Yuki, that was obvious. Owen had gotten a letter from his parents, he said, and Merric received a letter, though he wouldn't tell her whom it was from.  
  
"There's one here for you too, Kel." Someone said.  
  
Puzzled, Kel reached forward and took the letter from them. "Thanks." she muttered. It wasn't from her parents. It wasn't anyone in her family's handwriting.  
  
"Who's it from?" Dom asked, seeing the perplexed look on her face.  
  
"The crown." She said. "I've been granted leave."  
  
Dom's eyes widened. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into his room.  
  
"What is it?" Kel said. She was worried, until she saw his grin.  
  
"I was granted leave as well!" He said.  
  
Kel looked at him. "Why didn't you say anything?" She asked, trying not to feel hurt by it.  
  
He shrugged. "It had just happened, and I was upset, because I don't want to leave."  
  
Kel frowned. "They can't make me leave." She said, pouting.  
  
Dom smiled. "Yes they can. Besides," he added, "It isn't a requested leave, is it? That means it's more of a sabbatical, then a vacation."  
  
She sighed and nodded. "How long?" She asked.  
  
Dom looked over his letter. "Until April the first." He looked up. "That's when I have to be back." He looked back down again. "And I have to leave directly after Midwinter."  
  
Kel looked at her own letter. "Same here." She said. She looked up at him. "Who's going to replace us?"  
  
Dom shrugged. "No one, I guess. Maybe Jon thinks that three knights is enough."  
  
Kel sat down on the bed. "Something is going to happen." She said quietly. "I can feel it."  
  
Dom sat down beside her. "Nothing is going to happen." He said, holding her hand. "They're not going to attack in the middle of winter." He looked confused for a moment. "I wonder why they want us to leave in this weather. It certainly won't be a very comfortable ride."  
  
Kel smiled. "The letter said we could stay at Steadfast for a night on our way."  
  
Dom kissed her forehead. "There you go." He smiled. "Perfect."  
  
Kel snuggled up to him. "Do you think they're trying to tell us something?" She asked.  
  
Dom looked down at her. "What do you mean?" He asked.  
  
Kel shrugged. "It's just, why would they let us both leave at the same time, in the middle of winter?"  
  
Dom laughed, stroking her shoulder. "I think they gave you leave because you haven't had it in over a year, and you still haven't had any time off since you were in Scanra. Besides, winter is the best time. They know that the Scanrans aren't going to attack."  
  
Kel sat up. "You know, you're right!" She said. "I should be celebrating this time off, shouldn't I?"  
  
Dom grinned.  
  
Kel's face fell. "But what about Fhire? Does she stay here? I mean, she has only been my squire for fifteen months, barely over a year. Will she come with me?"  
  
Dom nodded.  
  
Kel smiled. "Alright then. So it is perfect."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Almost three weeks later, Kel, Dom, and Fhire set off.  
  
It was still very cold, and they rode as fast as they could to Steadfast, where they savoured their warm beds. They set off early the next morning, hoping to go as far as they could, and to make it to an inn. They had spent the first night outside, and they didn't want to do it again. They did.  
  
Kel sat on a log in front of the fire wrapped in a blanket with Fhire beside her on a tree stump while Dom tended to their dinner.  
  
"Why do I have to do this?" He asked.  
  
Kel smiled. "Because you offered."  
  
He stood up. "No I didn't!"  
  
Kel stood up. "Poor Dom. Here let me do that, the rest of your night will be cold enough."  
  
He smiled proudly and sat in Kel's seat. "Wait a minute!" He said. "What did you mean by that?"  
  
Kel smiled. "The boys tent isn't going to have very much body heat."  
  
Dom frowned. He knew he was in for a rough night.  
  
Kel woke early the next morning. She was freezing. She quickly pulled herself out of her bedroll and put on her boots. She went outside, and noticed how much colder it was, just outside of her tent. She looked around. She was all alone. She was just sitting up when she heard someone come up behind her. She stayed still. They were getting closer. They had something in their arms, probably a weapon. Kel could hear them walking with a load. She slowly set herself up to jump...  
  
She leapt up. She was about to punch him when a flurry of sticks flew in her face. "Ahh!" She threw up her hands to stop them from scratching her.  
  
"Mithros, Kel, you what was that jump for?"  
  
Kel put her hands down. There was a pair of bright blue eyes looking back at her. "Dom, don't sneak up on me like that!" She said. "I had no idea that was you."  
  
He laughed. "I'm sorry." He kissed her. "There," he said, "all better."  
  
She smiled. "You are so evil." She rolled her eyes and got down on her knees to light the fire.  
  
Fhire poked her head out of the tent. "What on earth was that noise about?" She asked groggily.  
  
Kel smiled at her. "Dom snuck up on me." She said.  
  
"Hey!" Dom said, pointing a finger at her angrily, "you jumped out at me!"  
  
Kel laughed. "Because you were sneaking up on me." She said, smiling sweetly.  
  
He opened his mouth, but closed it. He knew he couldn't win.  
  
They left as early as they could that morning. The sun was shining brightly in the sky, but it made little difference. Jump didn't even try to run beside Hoshi, he just stayed in her basket. The sparrows buried themselves in Hoshi's mane, and Triaxx curled up on Fhire's pack. Dom mentioned at one point that he felt very lonely, not having a cute animal to cuddle with. They rode all day, finally stopping at a small inn, a four days ride from Corus.  
  
Kel sighed as she stepped into the warm inn. It was so beautiful to her. The low ceiling was barely a foot above her head, and little light made it through the shutters. The candles in the room gave off a warm light, making the entire room glow.  
  
She was immediately led to her room, where she collapsed on her bed. She got up a few minutes later to have a hot bath. After she got out, she dressed and knocked on the door that connected Fhire's room to hers.  
  
Fhire opened the door, looking tired. "Good evening, Lady Kel." She said.  
  
Kel smiled. "Good evening, Fhire. Come on, I have some work for you to do."  
  
Fhire nodded and followed Kel into her room, where they both sat down at the small table in the corner. Kel sighed. "I have to go through all these papers. There's a lot about my leave, but I also have to file reports on the camp. Any problems or requests I have, that sort of thing."  
  
Fhire nodded, and they got to work. They worked for a few hours, and neither of them noticed when Dom knocked on the door.  
  
He opened it. "Hello..." he said.  
  
Kel looked up. "Dom! You couldn't have knocked first?"  
  
He frowned. "I did. You didn't answer." He said. Kel blushed, and Fhire giggled.  
  
When Dom told them what time it was, Kel let Fhire go to bed, feeling rather guilty at keeping her up so late. Dom sat down in her seat.  
  
"Well, I think we're making quite good time, don't you?" He asked.  
  
Kel nodded. "We are." Neither of them said anything. Kel laughed. "Are we going to say anything, or are we both going to fall asleep?" She asked.  
  
Dom shook his head quickly. "I'm sorry, what was that?" Dom asked. "I fell asleep." He smiled. "Did I miss something important?"  
  
Kel smiled. "Neither of us have said anything in ten minutes. I think we were both asleep."  
  
Dom stood up. "Well, seeing as we both fell asleep, I think we should probably go to sleep."  
  
Kel, leaning on her hand, nodded, smiling.  
  
Dom leaned over and kissed her before leaving. "Next time, you have to get up." He said.  
  
Kel slowly stood up and walked over to her bed, which she collapsed on, falling asleep instantly.  
  
* * * * * They reached Corus a few days later. It was still very cold, even so far south from the Scanran border, though not nearly as much so. They rode straight up to the palace stables.  
  
"Hello, Lady Knight." the stable hand said.  
  
Kel glanced over. "You are not Stephan." She said bluntly.  
  
He nodded. "Yes, My Lady. They hired me a few months ago. Stephan was having trouble on his own."  
  
Kel nodded slowly, looking him over. He held his head high, unmoving. "Very well." Kel said finally. "My horse will not be good for just anyone. Please bring me Stephan."  
  
"I'm sorry, My Lady, Stephan is not here."  
  
Kel frowned. As she did, she realized she was becoming the frightening knight who intimidated all of the servants. She didn't want to be that. "Very well, my squire will tend to my horse. Thank you for your assistance..."  
  
"Jan, My Lady."  
  
Kel smiled. "Thank you, Jan."  
  
He smiled back. "My pleasure, My Lady."  
  
Kel called out to Fhire, who came quickly from the other end of the stables. "Yes, Lady Kel?" She asked.  
  
Kel smiled. "Could you tend to Peachblossom please, Fhire? I have some things to do."  
  
Fhire nodded. "Yes Lady Kel." Kel gave her the reins and walked off to find Dom. They needed to find out once and for all why they had been given leave.  
  
They found out rather quickly. A page came up them during supper. "Yes?" Dom asked.  
  
"My name is Johannes, Sir. The king has requested your presence after supper." He said, looking fairly nervous. He tried to focus on Dom, but kept stealing glances at Kel.  
  
"Thank you, Johannes." Kel said. He jumped slightly, and looked at her wide- eyed. He bowed.  
  
"You're welcome, My Lady."  
  
Dom grabbed his arm as he turned. He signalled for the boy to come closer. He did, and Dom whispered something in his ear.  
  
Kel raised an eyebrow after the boy had left. "What did you tell him?" She asked suspiciously.  
  
"To call you sir." He smiled.  
  
Kel raised her eyebrow even higher. "And why did you whisper?"  
  
Dom stopped smiling. He looked pensive. "Honestly, I don't know."  
  
Kel laughed and went back to her supper.  
  
After dinner, they were admitted into the king's study.  
  
"Good evening, Sir Keladry, Captain Domitan." Jon nodded to both of them.  
  
He smiled at Kel. "I thought you should know, there is another female page, by the name of Aleydis. Perhaps she will be your squire, as well."  
  
Kel smiled. "Maybe, your majesty."  
  
Jon sat up a bit straighter. "Now, to the business at hand. The kingdom is in grave danger." He said, looking very solemn. "Keladry, Maggur must be defeated. If he is not, I fear the land of Tortall will fall."  
  
Kel nodded. "What has this got to do with me?" She asked. "Besides the fact that I live in Tortall, of course."  
  
He frowned. "I thought that was terribly simple. Your job is to kill him."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Woot woot. 3,891 words. I rule.  
  
Treanz-alyce: I have no idea what this Fido thing you're talking about is. Your cell phone took your fanfiction off?  
  
Ophelia-waterhouse: glad you like it!  
  
Rubber duck: why don't you just shut up, know-it-all? No, I'm just kidding. I always mess up the ages, because I pass years or months at a time, so I lose track really easily...I thought I got it in order, but I guess not.  
  
AJ 4EVA: so good!  
  
Wake-robin: thanks  
  
Supersk8ergirl: yep...they do get a little stuck up. But that's because they're nobles, not because they're asses. It's just because they don't live the normal lifestyle that it seems weird when they're stuck up, but they would definitely be like that sometimes.  
  
Lady Wolfspeaker: Actually, I talked about that in my last chapter, or one of them...who knows which. She gets more formal in this chappie.  
  
Aznchicki: it's true, fluff is always good, but I like to write a plot too (except that I don't have one right now *backing away slowly...break into a run!*)  
  
Tris the weatherwitch: great name. mmm....tasty unolimbo crisp...  
  
Fhire: of course you would like it.  
  
God Rox: Thanks! I like to be on author alert lists, they make me feel all tingly inside! Hee hee...  
  
PsychoLioness13: look! Lots more!  
  
Kel goddess protector of: whoa....so...many...spelling...errors....must...not...correct...all...of....them... sorry. I have written more stories. There's this one, After The Deed, Harry Potter and The Second War, and Harry Potter and the Rebuilding of the Magical World. You can see them if you search under my name. I'm also writing another Harry Potter story, but it's not on the computer yet.  
  
Kerowyn-Dawnfire: well, I'm glad you didn't think it was the worst. Just cuz I'm curious, what do you think was the best?  
  
Lady of the rogues: no, I'm not going to write any Alanna stories, because I don't know the books very well, and I didn't particularly enjoy them...they're not as good, in my opinion.  
  
Now, if you would all excuse me, I must go and cram cram cram!  
  
-unolimbo 


	17. Journey Through Ice

"Excuse me, your majesty?" Kel said, disbelieving.  
  
Jon frowned. "Now really, Keladry. It is quite simple. You are to go to Scanra and kill Maggur! Now," He said, settling in, "this is going to get more complex. You are to travel to Scanra, track down Maggur, and kill him. But you're not doing it with an army."  
  
Kel raised her eyebrow. "I'm not?"  
  
Jon shook his head, his look more serious than through the entire talk. "No. You will do it alone. There will be no storming of the castle, no siege, nothing! You will walk the road to Scanra alone. You, and your sparrows will go to Maggur, and you will kill him!"  
  
"Why am I here?" Dom asked quietly.  
  
Jon sighed. "When I sent the message, I was not sure if I was going to send you completely alone or not. I was going to send two people, but I changed my mind."  
  
"Why?" Dom demanded.  
  
Jon frowned. "I shouldn't have to explain this to you." He sighed. "But I know you will persist. I decided that secrecy was too important. Absolute silence, and if Kel is not alone, she will not always be on her guard."  
  
"But if she's alone, what does she do when she goes to sleep? She will have no one to keep guard!"  
  
Jon opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. "That's true." He said quietly.  
  
Kel looked at them. "Your majesty, I would feel more comfortable having someone watching my back. It would probably help."  
  
"I have lost all authority in my kingdom." Jon said sharply.  
  
Kel and Dom glanced at each other. What were they to say to that?"  
  
"I will leave you two to decide. Don't feel you have to tell me your final decision. I'm only the king!" He stood up. "Kel, you two need to make this decision tonight. You leave in the morning."  
  
Kel and Dom stood up and gave a little bow.  
  
Jon bowed his head with a jerk. "Good day." He said, and walked out the door.  
  
Kel walked to the door. She turned back to Dom. "I have to think about this."  
  
Dom reached out and took her hand. "Kel, I understand that, but I don't think you should do this yourself."  
  
Kel shook her head. "Just let me think about it, okay?"  
  
He nodded. "I'll come by your room later tonight, alright?"  
  
Kel nodded. "Fine." She walked out.  
  
Kel walked slowly back to her room. This was too much. She could understand that they kept making her run the camp, and lead expeditions, she knew she was good at that. But how could they expect her to go to Scanra by herself? By the time Dom arrived at her room that night, she had an answer.  
  
"Come in." Kel said when he knocked on the door.  
  
Dom stepped in. Kel was just finishing her packing. "What have you decided?" He asked, sitting down on her bed.  
  
Kel sighed. "I'm going alone."  
  
"What?" Dom stood up. "You can't!"  
  
Kel shook her head. "I have to. Jon was right, I would be distracted if you were there. The sparrows are perfectly good guards, and I won't have to worry about bringing enough rations for two people. I'm not even taking a horse, you know."  
  
Dom frowned. "This isn't right, Kel. You shouldn't do this yourself! It's not fair to you."  
  
Kel frowned. "Why isn't it fair? I am the best, and Jon knows that. There is no one better for the job! Why shouldn't I do this myself?'  
  
"Because you are going to get yourself killed, that's why."  
  
Kel stopped. A wave of realization washed over her. She sat down. He was right. She couldn't do this herself. She wouldn't be able to. She shook the thoughts off. "It's not true. I can do this. I can kill him."  
  
Dom put his arm around her. "Kel, I know you can kill him. I know that you wouldn't let anything happen until you finished your goal. I just think that you won't be able to get back."  
  
Kel looked up at him. "How can you say that?"  
  
Dom kissed her forehead. "I know you. When you have a goal, you won't stop until you achieve it. I'm just afraid you will stop when you do."  
  
Kel shook her head. "You're still not coming with me. If that's how it happens, then it happens that way. I have to do this myself."  
  
Dom sighed. "Kel, I'm not going to stop you. But please, promise me you'll be careful?"  
  
Kel kissed him. "I promise."  
  
She lay down. "What is going to happen?" She asked. Dom looked down at her.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"If it works. What will happen to Tortall?"  
  
Dom lay down beside her. "I suppose everything will go back to the way it was. The refugees will get to build new homes, and all of our friends will get to come home. There will be a big ceremony for all the fallen soldiers and knights, and then we will have a big party for all of our friends, and we will celebrate that all of our friends can be together again."  
  
Kel smiled. "I meant how will the war end. But that does make me feel better."  
  
Dom kissed her again. "I love you, Kel. You know that, right?"  
  
Kel smiled. "Of course."  
  
* * * * *  
  
When Kel woke up the next morning, Dom was already gone. Kel sat up in her bed. It seemed easier that way, less awkward, and Kel didn't have to feel even worse about leaving. She picked up her pack and went to the kitchens to pick up her food.  
  
She checked her pack. She now had warm clothes for Scanran weather, a pot, a bowl, cutlery, boots, and enough rations to last her three weeks, if she ate them for every single meal.  
  
It was silly, really. She would ride back to Steadfast, where she would leave Hoshi, gather a bit more rations, and continue across the border on foot.  
  
She was walking down to the stables when Fhire ran into her.  
  
"Lady Kel! Why didn't you come and tell me?"  
  
Kel's mouth fell open. "Mithros, I forgot! Fhire, I am so sorry! How did you find out?"  
  
She sighed. "It's all right, Lady Kel. " She hugged her. "Be careful, promise me that."  
  
Kel smiled. "Of course, I promise I will."  
  
Fhire hugged her again. "Good bye." She smiled. "Come back, okay?"  
  
Kel nodded. "Now I really have to go."  
  
She jogged down the rest of the way, quite a feat, with the pack on her back; it reminded her of running with the weights from when she was a page. But she found something she did not expect.  
  
"Morning, love." Dom said, leaning on his already saddled horse.  
  
Kel frowned. "Why are you here?"  
  
He smiled. "That's some way to treat me. What was it, a one night stand?"  
  
Kel blushed slightly, and surprisingly, so did Dom. "You're not coming with me." Kel said.  
  
Dom shook his head. "On the contrary. I am coming with you. As you can see, I've got my horse saddled, my rations packed, and my coat on. I seem perfectly prepared to come."  
  
Kel walked straight by him. "You're staying here. This is my mission, what I say, goes."  
  
Dom smiled. "I thought you might say that. I told the king. He knows I'm here, so there's no going back now."  
  
Kel sighed as she saddled Hoshi. Peachblossom whinnied from the next stall.  
  
"Shhh, Peachblossom. You have to stay here." She patted him on the nose. His eyes looked sadder and older than she could ever remember them looking.  
  
Dom stepped forward to him. Slowly, he put his hand forward, scared of what Peachblossom would do. Reaching closer and closer, he lightly patted Peachblossom on the nose. The horse did nothing, except look up at Dom with his sad eyes.  
  
Kel smiled. "I don't remember that ever happening before."  
  
Dom grinned. "I think Peachblossom approves of me, don't you agree?"  
  
Kel leaned forward and kissed him. They hesitated there, until Kel finally pulled away. "I think he believes in us. He's showing you that."  
  
She turned back to Hoshi.  
  
* * * * *  
  
They got to Steadfast a few days later. Raoul welcomed them.  
  
"I'm only going to say this once, Kel," He said sternly, "don't get yourself killed."  
  
Kel hugged him, which threw him off guard, he didn't know what to do, but after a moment, he hugged back. "Don't worry," Kel said, "I won't."  
  
They set off the next morning for Scanra. By nightfall, they were across the borders and into strange lands.  
  
"I don't like this." Kel said, as they trekked off road to find a suitable camp site.  
  
Dom shook his head. "Nor do I. Who shall take the first watch?"  
  
After a moment of arguing, they agreed that Kel would take the first watch, and they would switch at one o'clock.  
  
"We're barely going to get five hours of sleep each. We probably would have been better off taking Fhire with us." Dom said. "You know what? We're barely at the border, and we're quite far off the beaten trail. Do we really need to keep a watch?"  
  
Kel sighed and looked around. Shadows lurked everywhere. There was a bright moon, but Kel could still not make out the road at all. "What about our path? Won't someone see that?"  
  
Dom looked up. "Nope. It's starting to snow."  
  
Kel smiled. "I supposed we could set a sparrow on watch."  
  
She finished setting up the tent, and she climbed in. "I'm assuming you brought your tent?" She said, poking her head back out.  
  
Dom shook his head. "I saw no reason for me to bring it. I left my pot at Steadfast as well. But don't worry, I made up for it with extra weapons and rations. Two more weeks of food, an extra sword, an axe, and a knife."  
  
Kel smiled. "Well," she said, "come in before you catch a chill."  
  
* * * * *  
  
A week passed by, and as they got closer and closer to their goal, the snow got thicker and thicker, and the air got colder and colder. The sparrows could fly ahead for no more than an hour before they had to come back and nestle in Kel and Dom's hoods to warm their frozen feathers. The leather straps on Kel's armour began to freeze as well, and she was constantly afraid that she would not get them off when they reached camp. They found they could not eat many of their rations without warming them over a fire first, and they quickly discovered that they were better off to share a bedroll and use each others body heat. Nothing ever happened between them, there were too many layers on them to even feel each others touch.  
  
There was so much snow in the day time that they had no choice but to travel by the road, as the snow drifts were just to big to walk through. Kel tried to construct primitive snow shoes, but the wood she attempted to use was frozen and brittle, and kept snapping.  
  
Finally, after almost two weeks of travelling, Kel caught sight of it: Desmaurads, capitol of Scanra.  
  
Kel held Dom's hand as she looked at the great city. She could see the palace in the middle, icy and bright in the sun. the city looked almost uninhabited, just frozen.  
  
"I wish we were here in the summer. Their summers are warm, only slightly milder then Tortalls."  
  
Dom smiled, though Kel could barely see it under his parka. "Think of it this way: if it were summer, there would be guards everywhere, and we would be spotted instantly."  
  
Kel frowned. "You're not making me feel any better." She said, and walked towards the great city.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Alright, I have no idea if Tamora Pierce, or I, ever created a capitol of Scanra, but I am far too tired to check. Besides, I like this capitol, and I am very happy with the writing in this last bit.  
  
And to anyone to dense to get my lack of subtlety, yes, they had sex. Yay, obviousness. And yes, to all those people who are going to ask, she had a pregnancy charm.  
  
Wake-Robin: Thanks, I liked that bit too.  
  
AJ 4EVA: thanks!  
  
Lady of the rogues: Don't worry! I'm not leaving you with nothing! There's plenty more to come, don't worry! I already know that this story certainly is not dead. I have so many ideas for this story, the problem is trying to fit them all in!  
  
I'm not Weird, I'm Gifted: I totally understand....I have a wireless connection, and sometimes it hates me. glad you like it!  
  
Aznchicki: Don't worry, I ran away, but I realized that home is the place to be...jokes. Fluff is good, I agree.  
  
Smiles28: thanks....I always love to be cool...  
  
nikiamysticQUEENofFIRE: Wow. Definitely one of the best reviews I have received. I want to quote it, just so people can see how cool you think I am! Just kidding... but thank you, that is a really good compliment. I find, though, that all my stories consist of is dialogue. There is absolutely nothing to do with setting, imagery, any thing. Just 'he said' 'she said.'  
  
Lady Wolfspeaker: Ooh, I succeeded in the fluff department....definitely...damn right the mission is good...that's a damn fine mission!  
  
Fhire: You are so strange. You know who I have consistently forgotten about, though? Triaxx. I forget about him and Tobe. I remember everyone else. These last few chapters, I've also forgotten about Jump, but not nearly as much as Triaxx and Tobe. I'll have to do something about that, when (or if) they get back from Scanra.  
  
Miliko01: shoulda seen what? What are we talking about now?  
  
LilChocolateAngl: thanks, and don't worry: writing is all I do. Most kids come home from school and their break from work is television, or computer games; I write fanfiction. Go figure.  
  
Ophelia-waterhouse: thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it.  
  
Psycholioness13: was it really? BOM BOM BOM... I AM THE LIZARD QUEEN!  
  
Viking-rulz: yay! u rock! finally, sum1 else who likes pots betta than sotl. Interesting. "pots betta than sotl." What are you on, and where can I get some?  
  
Jasmine135246: thanks, it's always good to hear from a new reviewer! You are a new reviewer for me, right?  
  
Daughter-of-faeries: interesting... I feel like Mr. Burns. All I need are the fingers....and 88 years, and a sex change, and I'm so there.  
  
I'm sorry I rambled on so. I haven't been up this late in a long time, and it's only 11 o'clock. I'm a common whuss. I'm sorry to any one I was horribly rude to, it's all in good fun. I promise.  
  
Hmmm...I'm at 133 reviews. That's very good, but I'm sure you can do better. I want 150 before I give up another chapter. Don't worry, I like posting stuff, so you'll get it any way, I'll just take my damn precious time with it. See you in two weeks, or sooner, if you scrounge up 17 reviews! Just so you know, I got sixteen this chapter. SO if everyone of you reviews, and one of my regulars who didn't review this time does as well, we'll be right up there, and we'll be all good! My goal by the end of this story is three hundred, five, if I get more ideas than I have now. That should give you an idea of how long it's going to last!  
  
"If that had been permanent, I'd have been very upset!"  
  
-unolimbo 


	18. Kraken

In the last chapter, I talked about how long it took them to get to Desmaurads. Ignore all of that. It is taking me too long to figure this out, but I'm just saying that my this time, it's mid-january. I don't care if I've screwed everything up, I know I didn't go back in time, so we'll just say they were on the road for about two months. It makes sense, really, seeing as it was winter, and they were on foot, going across an entire country. Anyway, it's mid-january. Remember that.  
  
Oh, and there is some definite PG, if not PG-13 material in here. Near the end has some serious violence. Well, not serious by today's standards, but just in case.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"How are we going to do this?" Dom asked as they trekked towards the city. They had waited until nightfall so that they would not be seen, but it was still dangerous.  
  
Kel kept looking straight ahead. "I don't know."  
  
Dom stopped walking. "What?"  
  
Kel kept going. She didn't answer.  
  
Dom ran to catch up with her. "What do you mean, you don't know?" He said, out of breath.  
  
Kel stopped and looked at him. "I'm going to play it by ear. There's no point in having a plan. I don't know the city, I don't know the guards or the soldiers, and unless I do, there's no plan that will work. When I get to the wall, I'll figure out how to get over it. once I'm inside, I'll work from there."  
  
Dom's mouth fell open. "You can't be serious-how will we keep it together?"  
  
"We shouldn't have to keep it together!" Kel snapped. "I was supposed to be doing this myself, so I wouldn't have to deal with instructing another person."  
  
Dom looked down. "Oh." He said quietly.  
  
Kel saw the look on his face and felt something inside of her break. She fell down onto the snow and started crying.  
  
"Kel, what's wrong?" Dom said.  
  
Kel shook her head. She was crying too much to talk; her tears were freezing on her cheeks. "It's just too much." She finally choked out. Dom put his arm around her. He didn't say anything. "He just sent me out here by myself, expecting so much of me, telling me I'll probably get killed doing it, but he doesn't care, as long as I do it! And none of my friends even know, they're going to think I was just being stupid running off like this again and they're going to have that as their last memory of me and I don't know-"  
  
Dom put a finger to her lips. "Shh, it's going to be alright. You're going to be fine. You always are."  
  
She shook her head. "It's not."  
  
Dom sighed. "You're right. It probably won't be alright. But that doesn't mean you are going to get killed. You will come out of this city. Do you understand?"  
  
Kel nodded. "I'm alright." She stood up. They walked in silence for a little while, until they came up to the wall. "Dom," Kel said as they searched for a way in, "what am I going to do?"  
  
Dom chuckled. "You're going to kill King Maggur, Lady Knight."  
  
Kel frowned. "That's not helping."  
  
Dom smiled as they walked along the wall. They lapsed into silence for a moment. "Ah, here we go." Dom said.  
  
Kel almost jumped. "What, what is it?" She asked, running up to him.  
  
"You see this section of wall?" He was pointing at the wall directly beside one of the gates. "Look closely."  
  
Kel closed her eyes and sighed. "Decorative bricks. You're going to make me climb this wall, aren't you?"  
  
Dom frowned. "You're not scared, are you? It's only about 40 metres. You've climbed trees higher than that!" he said, though Kel could see, he looked a bit green.  
  
"But in the trees I couldn't see below me, there were branches all around me. Kel sighed. "Well, let's get this over with." She started to climb, but couldn't get more than a metre up. "My pack is too heavy to climb with." She said. "My centre of balance is off, I'm going to fall backwards."  
  
Dom frowned. "That's not good. We can't leave them here for someone to find."  
  
Kel smiled. "I'm so glad I brought proper supplies."  
  
Dom gave her a questioning look.  
  
Kel just winked and pulled her length of rope out of her bag. "Grab yours."  
  
Dom quickly pulled his length of rope off of his pack, and Kel tied the ends together. She then tied one end of their now very long rope to the packs, and one end she wrapped around Dom and tied at side. "Take your weapons with you, just in case this doesn't work."  
  
Dom nodded slowly, still looking confused. He had no idea what she was talking about.  
  
Kel sighed. "Dom, we're going to climb up the wall and then pull the packs up."  
  
He nodded. "Oh."  
  
Kel went first. They had to work quickly; she thought it would take some time to get them and their packs up, and they wanted time to find somewhere to sleep that was completely safe before dawn broke. Actually, a long time before dawn broke, just in case any one got up early.  
  
She took a deep breath. "I can do this." She muttered quietly to herself. She put her hand on the first stone. It was icy and slippery, and it felt like she would slip off if she didn't hold on with all her might. She started slowly up the wall. She could do this speed, she was confident that if she went very slowly, she would be all right. She kept going, slowly up the wall.  
  
"How are you doing, Dom?" She asked as loudly as she dared.  
  
"I'm all right. You?"  
  
She closed her eyes. "Horrible. But I'll make it." She looked up at this point. She had about 10 metres to go. "We're almost there."  
  
She reached for the next stone up. It broke in her hand. She gave a little scream, and jerked down a bit. "I can't do it, I can't!" She said.  
  
She felt Dom's hand on her ankle. He had taken his support off the wall, 30 metres up , to comfort her. It worked. If he could do that, she could make it up the wall. She took a deep breath and pushed herself high enough to reach the stone above the one that broke. She wanted to test it's strength, but to push herself high enough to reach it, she had o put weight on it. It held, and she kept going, testing every rock after that one.  
  
Finally, after what seemed like hours, she reached the top and peered over. She sighed. The Scanrans were cocky; they knew no one was stupid enough to come to Scanra in the middle of winter, and didn't even have any guards out. If anything, they were expecting an army, which would not have been able to get to the city in one night, and would either be seen in the evening, or the early morning. They weren't expecting Kel. She did one more scan of the wall, and saw nothing.  
  
"All clear." She said, and pushed herself over the wall.  
  
Dom didn't follow. "Dom?" She said. Oh god, she thought, he fell. She looked over the wall. It seemed much less dizzying now that she had climbed it. Dom was just below the edge trying to reach it.  
  
"Dom, just push yourself up." She said.  
  
He grunted. "We ran out of rope. I am pushing."  
  
Kel sighed. "Of course, we had to run out of rope." She thought for a second. "Can you untie it yourself? If you can, I can take the end of the rope and you can climb up."  
  
He nodded. "I think so." He put one hand down to untie it, and Kel could see his fingers sliding back on the stone.  
  
"Dom!" She said. H quickly grabbed the rock with his other hand and pulled himself back up.  
  
"I guess I can't." He said.  
  
Kel frowned. "Wait. Give me your hand." He did, and she gripped it tightly with both of her hands. "Now untie it with your other hand. I won't drop you, as long as you hold on to me too."  
  
He nodded, and Kel felt his grip tighten on his hand as she leaned forward slightly to give him slack. Her head spun from leaning over the wall.  
  
A moment later, she had the rope in her hand, and not a moment too soon, because she had felt her grip slipping.  
  
She gave him a quick hug, glad that they were both alive. They then set to work pulling up their packs, which was harder than Kel had expected. The packs kept getting stuck on stones as they pulled it up, and they just didn't have the strength to pull it up straight. They finally figured out to move slightly further down the wall where there were no stones sticking out and pull the rope around a pole by the stairs.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, they had their packs on their backs and were ready to go.  
  
Kel pulled out her sword. "We have to be silent. Anyone could wake up." They decided on using the Owns hand signals. They quietly went down the stairs into the town square. Thankfully, the snow was cleared from the main paths, just like in Corus, and they didn't leave any prints.  
  
They ended up finding a small, obviously abandoned building with a well concealed cellar. It had one door to the outside, found in a small pathway off of an alley. It was perfect for their needs, it was obvious that no one went there, and the path between the buildings was small enough that they could walk along the walls of the two buildings, pushing on them with their hands and feet, so that they left no prints. It worked, and they found themselves in the perfect place. Kel lit a candle inside while Dom stayed out to see if anyone would be able to see it. It was fine, even in the complete darkness.  
  
They went inside and set up their bedrolls. It was cool inside, but it would be a warmer sleep than they had had in days.  
  
Kel sat down on her roll with a piece of jerky. She warmed her hands with the candle and sighed. "Now how am I going to get to Maggur? He's probably the most well guarded person in Desmaurads. I doubt I can get any where near him."  
  
Dom shook his head. "He's obviously very cocky, he didn't even put guards up. He must think he's invincible."  
  
Kel raised an eyebrow, but Dom nodded. "I've heard of it, and it happens to event he smartest people. they never get hurt, and everything goes right for them, and then they think that they're invincible. He's going to do stupid things now, and give us plenty of opportunities.  
  
"I think I've even got an idea." He said, showing Kel a sign he had pulled off a wall on their way in. "Midwinter, Kel. They also celebrate it. They have different customs, though, and they celebrate it later! Look!"  
  
She read the sign. It was a public poster, advertising the annual Winter Carnival. In large letters on top it read: Annual Winter Carnival January 31 to February 2 Annual Parade starting at noon on January 31.  
  
Kel shrugged. "So? That just means we have to be extra careful not to get caught. Unless we kill him in the next two weeks, of course."  
  
Dom rolled his eyes. "That's not it at all. We can use this day. We take our bows on top of the building, and wait for the procession."  
  
Kel sighed. "What if the king isn't in the procession?"  
  
Dom shrugged. "So we kill him at the carnival. It's not like he wouldn't go."  
  
Kel coughed. "Excuse me? You want to go into the palace to kill him? Did you read everything on that sign? They're not going to hold this carnival outside for very much of it. It's too cold. It takes place in the palace."  
  
They talked for a while, and finally decided to wait on the roof just in case the king was there for the procession.  
  
That night, they went up to the roof to see the space they would have, the cover, and what their view of Maggur would be like.  
  
Just as they were crouching at the edge of the roof when Kel saw something against the moon: an eagle was circling above them. "This could be bad." Dom said, when the eagle cried out.  
  
They both ran back to the door and, as quietly as they could, ran down the stairs to the cellar.  
  
A moment later, they heard quiet footsteps on the stairs down to the cellar. "Kel?" A voice said. Kel sat up. "Kel? Are you down here?" the voice whispered.  
  
Kel stood up and drew her sword. "Who's there?" She knew the voice; it sounded so calm and sweet, so familiar.  
  
"It's me, Kel. Daine."  
  
Kel put down her sword as Daine came into the room. Dom quickly lit a candle. Kel hugged Daine as soon as she could see her.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Kel asked.  
  
Daine smiled. "I found out that you two had been at the palace when I got back. I also found out about your little adventure, and decided you needed help. No, not me." She said, as Kel opened her mouth to protest. "An old friend, by the name of Quaro. But you would not know that. You never learned his name."  
  
Kel nodded slowly, confused. "Do you need to know our plan?"  
  
Daine nodded. "That would be wonderful."  
  
Kel explained everything she and Dom had talked about.  
  
Daine smiled. "It sounds risky, but I know you'll be fine. Your transportation will be here at noon on the January 31."  
  
She stood up. "I must be going. I have to be gone by daybreak. They don't often see eagles here in winter. In fact, we don't either."  
  
Kel gave her a hug. "Thank you so much."  
  
Kel went upstairs with her to see her off. She watched as Daine flew back towards Tortall.  
  
"It's amazing," Kel said when she got back to the cellar, "that she flew all the way out here in this winter cold."  
  
Dom shrugged. "Maybe Quaro helped her, too. Do you know who this Quaro character is?" He asked sceptically.  
  
Kel shook her head, frowning. "No idea."  
  
Dom sat down on his bedroll. "Are we sure we can trust him?"  
  
Kel gave him an appraising look. "If Daine said he would help, than he will help. She wouldn't lie. And no one would lie to her. She was probably one of the only people who got the truth about why we left."  
  
* * * * *  
  
The next two weeks went by slowly. Kel was constantly hungry, because their food supplies were running low, and she was constantly cold, because they couldn't afford the danger of having more than one candle lit at a time. She spent her time silently practicing with her glaive, and talking with Dom.  
  
"Are you nervous?" Dom asked her the night before, as she lay in his arms.  
  
She shook her head. "No. I thought I would be horribly nervous, but I've realized, there's nothing to be nervous about. I'll get the job done, that much I know."  
  
Dom kissed her forehead. "You have to come home. You know that, right? Not just for me."  
  
Kel looked at him. "Why?"  
  
"Fhire would be thoroughly disappointed of you didn't show up to her Ordeal."  
  
Kel sat up. "Gods, that's next Midwinter! Why did you have to remind me?"  
  
Dom held her hand and pulled her back down. "So you'll know that you're needed just as much at home."  
  
Kel woke early the next morning. She ate the biggest breakfast she had eaten since she left Corus, just in case of a fight. While she was on the roof preparing, Dom was going to go into the grocers next door and steal some provisions. He would buy them, really, because he would leave money, but the grocer wouldn't know about it. They knew that all the stores would be closed, they would all be out for the procession.  
  
Kel checked her weapons thoroughly that morning. Her trusty Raven sword, Griffin, which Alanna had given her almost ten years ago, still shone as brightly as ever, and she had checked her bow strings so many times in the past few days that there was not a single thread loose. She had three arrows with griffin cock feathers. She had saved the bag of feathers for years, using them really only for arrows, and still rarely then.  
  
She tied around her head, holding her hair back, just in case the king had safety precautions in the form of magic.  
  
Finally, she put on her armour. She had everything on except her helm. She wanted Maggur to see who it was that killed him.  
  
By eleven thirty, the had packed all of their bags, strapped their weapons on to them, and were on the roof. They had barred the doors from the inside so that Maggurs men could not get in, and they were ready. Kel looked around. No sign of anyone she knew. She crawled to the other side of the roof and looked down. There, crouched in the little path off of the alley, she could see something familiar.  
  
She smiled. "Hello, Quaro." He looked up, but didn't say anything. Kel could see a smile in his eyes.  
  
Dom crawled over to her. "Is he here?" He asked.  
  
Kel nodded and pointed down. Dom looked over the edge and blanched. "Goddess save us." He said.  
  
Kel smiled. "Don't worry, I think she will."  
  
"But, won't people see him?" He asked.  
  
Kel shook her head. "The only people who would come back here are adventurous children, and they will all be watching the procession."  
  
She crawled back to the front of the building and risked a look over. It reminded her of the procession from when she was a squire. People standing everywhere, bright flags in hand, awaiting the parade. That's what it was, Kel could see it in the distance. Maggur and a few others on horses at the front, but also animals and people in carnival costumes, firebreathers, men on stilts, and people with instruments. Kel wished it had been in Corus; she would have been down there in a second. She didn't have time to think about that, though. He was getting closer.  
  
When Maggur was just about to reach her, Kel stood up. No one noticed, which Kel had expected. She whistled loudly, attracting Maggurs attention. He glanced up quickly, and looked down again. As soon as he did, he looked back up at the girl with an arrow pointed at him.  
  
"Hello, you majesty." She said.  
  
He smiled. "Keladry. How wonderful of you to join us."  
  
Kel nodded slightly. All eyes were on her.  
  
"You are being very silly, my dear girl. You didn't realize, my men are making their way up to you right now."  
  
Kel didn't flinch. "You are being very silly yourself, King Maggur."  
  
"That's your majesty to you." A man beside him said, frowning.  
  
Kel looked at him for a second. "No it isn't." A few people whispered on the ground. "Who is she?" She heard someone say.  
  
Kel looked back to Maggur. "As I was saying, you didn't realize, I don't care."  
  
He raised his eyebrows. "Don't you?"  
  
Kel smiled, causing a few people in the streets to look around nervously. "No. You will die anyway, and I will get out of here anyway."  
  
Maggur lifted a hand and made a forward motion with two fingers. Ten archers in the procession brought out their bows and pointed them at her.  
  
"I wouldn't do that, Maggur." Kel said. He raised an eyebrow. "Quaro!" She said loudly.  
  
Maggur looked confused. "What, Karo? What is Karo?" But he was cut off by a loud screech and the sound of wings beating.  
  
A few people screamed, and many ran as the griffin rose up from behind the building.  
  
"Very nice, my dear." He said, unfazed. "You trained a griffin. Right."  
  
"Quaro. Pick it up."  
  
Maggur looked nervous. He thought Kel was talking about him, but the griffin just picked up the straps of Kel's pack in his beak. Dom was wearing his own.  
  
Kel's fingers were going to start trembling soon. She had to act. "Goodbye, King Maggur." She said, and let her arrow loose. It flew straight towards Maggur and pierced him in the eye before he could move. He slowly toppled over to the ground. All eyes followed him, except for Kel's. She had looked to her right, where Dom had run up. He squeezed her hand, and Quaro picked them up in his claws. With what seemed to Kel like a fair amount of difficulty, as they were heavy with their packs and armour, he flew them away from the city.  
  
Kel looked back. The gates were opening, and men were pouring out on horseback to chase them... but it was no good. The horses were just too slow in the snow. There was a road, but they weren't flying over it. Kel faced forward again, and looked down. As soon as she did, she realized where she was and what she was doing. She was almost a hundred feet in the air, in the claws of a friendly griffin who was having trouble holding them up.  
  
Dom noticed the look of horror on her face and squeezed her hand again. "It's going to be okay." He said loudly, but Kel could barely hear him for the rushing of the wind in her ears.  
  
Finally, when they were far enough from the city gates, Quaro put them down. He screeched loudly to Kel. She shook her head, her ears ringing.  
  
She looked up at the great griffin. She hadn't seen him since he was a very young child, when she was a squire. He was now very large, almost ten feet tall, and very strong.  
  
"You're much bigger than your parents were." Kel said to him. She put her hand up, and he nipped at her hand playfully. He had matured into a completely different creature.  
  
Daine flew down from a nearby tree. "He said you're welcome." She said. Quaro screeched again. "Yes, I'll her, don't worry!" She said sharply. She turned to Kel. "He wants you to know he's sorry he can't take you any further, but it would be dangerous for him."  
  
Kel smiled. "That's all right. We've covered a day's walk just there."  
  
Daine nodded. "He wants you to know that you are even. You helped him, and now he has helped you in return. But he has a connection with you that he has with no other human. If he needs help, it will be you he comes to." She patted him. "I don't think he'll be needing help any time soon, though."  
  
He screeched again, and flew up into the sky. Daine smiled. "He has to get back to his family. He has a child now, and his mate is going to have another soon. He has to get back to them."  
  
Dom grinned. "He seems to be pretty wise."  
  
Daine laughed. "Griffins are not notorious for their brains, but people still often think they aren't as smart as they really are."  
  
She turned back into an eagle, leaving her head in her normal human form. "I'm going to catch a ride in his wind stream. It will make an easier ride. No one will know if you have succeeded or not until you get back. I was not told I could come, so this probably shouldn't be something we talk about."  
  
She flew into the air, where Quaro was hovering, higher up. Kel waved, but Daine was facing the other way.  
  
Kel put on her pack and they started walking. They didn't talk for a while.  
  
"Kel, that was amazing." Dom finally said.  
  
Kel smiled. "Thank you. I was so nervous, I was shaking so much I was afraid I was going to miss. That's why I talked for so long. I needed to calm myself down."  
  
She paused for a moment, deep in thought. "I didn't think he would ever remember me. Actually, I never gave him any thought."  
  
Dom smiled. "I guess Daine was right. Griffins are smarter than they're given credit for."  
  
* * * * *  
  
The walk back to Corus was long, and February was cold. But, as it came closer to March, the snow slowly began to melt slowly, making everything wet. It was still below zero at night, and their clothing froze. Finally, after almost a month and a half of walking, they reached Steadfast.  
  
"I'm sorry." Raoul said, after they were let in and warmed up. "Jon told me to send your horses back to Corus at the end of February if you weren't back. We had a messenger come last week, and I sent them back with him."  
  
Kel sighed. "You had to listen to him. I liked it better when he had no authority." She snapped.  
  
Dom laughed, but Raoul looked confused. Dom rolled his eyes and told him to forget it.  
  
Raoul had almost no horses left, and now that they were going to be going home soon, they needed them for the journey. It was harder to bring an entire fort home on foot than two people. Kel and Dom set out the next morning with fresh provisions and dry clothes.  
  
"I can't decide if that was a good thing or not." Dom finally said.  
  
Kel cocked her head. "Why?"  
  
He shrugged. "I don't know, is it better that he didn't give our horses away at Steadfast, or is it bad that Jon assumed we wouldn't come back?"  
  
Kel smiled. "I don't think it really matters, does it?"  
  
The walk took almost two weeks. They usually rode, and in good conditions it took almost a week. There was less and less snow with each passing mile and day, but more mud and at night, more ice.  
  
Kel had always hated the mud the most. It always got stuck in her armour, her clothes, and her food.  
  
By the time they were halfway to Corus, it was warm enough that all Kel was wearing was her winter cloak, and she had her parka and all of its extremities strapped to her pack. She left her armour on, though, in case of bandits. If they were attacked, they would be very vulnerable; low numbers, on foot, and very tired.  
  
Six days from Corus, they encountered exactly what Kel had hoped they wouldn't: bandits.  
  
"What is it?" Kel said when the sparrows came barrelling towards her, chirping madly.  
  
They flew in a circle, with the leader, Sequin, staying still in the middle. It was the sign for bandits.  
  
"Bloody hell." Kel muttered. She threw her pack into a bush, concealing it, threw off her cloak, and pulled out her glaive. She wanted to be able to attack them from a distance, in case they were on horses. She looked around for a hiding spot, but there was no cover that they would be safe in. If they took the risk and were found, they would have no chance of surviving in a fight, because they wouldn't be ready. Direct combat would be easier.  
  
"Well, well. Roux, look what we have here!" One of the bandits said, riding up to the two of them standing in the middle of the road.  
  
The man called Roux grinned a toothless grin. Kel grimaced. He was going to try to take advantage of her, she could tell.  
  
"Good night, do you know a woman walks with you?" He asked.  
  
Dom smiled and glanced at Kel. These bandits must not get around much. They either didn't know about the Lady Knight, which was unlikely, or they just didn't connect the woman in front of them as her. "I do." He said. "Is there some sort of problem?"  
  
"I like her. Savage, bring her over here." Roux said, still smiling and staring at Kel.  
  
She put on her Yamani lump face. The man walked towards her, and before he could get close enough to grab Kel's wrist, she hooked her glaive around and gutted him.  
  
Roux blanched and looked scared for a second, but caught himself. "We've got us a warrior here, boys." He lifted a hand and did a signal. Kel didn't know what it meant.  
  
Three men came down to the ground and advanced at her with swords. Another two went towards Dom.  
  
Kel sighed. Why did bandits have to learn from their mistakes? The three men were in her reach now. She stabbed the first with her glaive, hooking it onto his other side. He screamed in pain as she swung him around and hit the second man with him, knocking them both over. "Come on, Jack! Gut her for me!" Roux yelled to the third man.  
  
Jack took a step back as Kel's glaive came out of the first man and splattered Jack in the face with blood.  
  
He recovered himself just soon enough to feel Kel's glaive slice his throat. Kel looked over at Dom. He had just stabbed the first man, and was in the process of cutting off the seconds head.  
  
Roux growled at them. "You leave me no choice, young lady."  
  
He made another signal, and all of the bandits came towards her. There were about fifteen in all left, since Kel and Dom had killed six.  
  
"Goddess protect." Kel muttered to herself as she held up her glaive to fight off Roux, who was the first man coming towards her, wielding an axe. Dom, who was on the other side of the road, took out two men on the outside, and knocked a third off his horse.  
  
Kel took a swing at Roux's horse, who collapsed, throwing Roux further along the road.  
  
The sparrows attacked one man's face and his horses face, causing his horse to buck him off, while bothering him too much to let him stop himself from falling onto his head and breaking his neck. Kel gutted two more men, Dom, the same.  
  
Kel was about to swing when she realized that she and Dom were circled. Five men, on horseback, and one on foot. Roux stepped out from in between two horses.  
  
"That was very rude, My Lady." He said, no longer smiling. "It was a good trick, though."  
  
"Would you like to see my next one?" Before he could do anything, she and Dom both charged forward, gutting two more men. "Roux, I think it's time you left. We've killed 16 of your men in less than fifteen minutes. Don't you want to keep five?"  
  
He glared at her for a second. "Ay! Retreat!" He jumped back on his horse, with the other horseless man behind him. They galloped off in the other direction.  
  
Kel collapsed on the first piece of clean ground she could find. "Mithros," she said, "I am so tired right now. Why do I keep having to fight people?"  
  
Dom smiled, taking a drink from his flask of water. "I thought you liked fighting?" He said, tossing her the flask.  
  
Kel took a gulp of water. "I do. Just not when I'm this tired." She smiled as she lay on her back.  
  
Dom stood up. "Come on, Kel. You know you hate mud in your clothes. Don't lie in it." He walked over to her and gave her his hand, helping her up. "Let's go. The faster we get home, the faster we can have warm, clean baths."  
  
Kel put on her cloak and picked up her pack. "We've still got a week, Dom. Don't be thinking about baths yet."  
  
Dom grinned. "It's a shame, really." He looked at Kel. "We're going to be heroes, you know. Greater heroes than any of our fellow knights. Sure, Raoul has killed giants, and Alanna got the Dominion Jewel, but we, we killed the Great King Maggur Rathhausak! Nothing, not nothing, is better than this!"  
  
Kel looked on. "What is this leading to? How is it a shame?"  
  
Dom blushed. "Oh, right. I was getting to that. Well, I was saying that it's a shame that we'll get back to Corus looking like pigs, and on foot. A more glamorous entrance would be nice."  
  
Kel kissed him, wrapping her arms around him. "Dom, it will be the best entrance we could get. We won't look like we just rode in and everything came easily to us. We'll look like we worked for it, and we had real hardships to overcome. We'll be considered the better for it."  
  
Dom smiled. "I like this. You've gotten back on the optimistic side." He said as they started to walk. "For a while, you had been incredibly pessimistic, and I thought you were gone for good."  
  
Kel punched him in the arm and immediately regretted it. He was wearing armour. She shook her hand, mouthing an 'ouch' sound. Dom laughed.  
  
"Beautiful." He kissed her hand. "there. All better."  
  
* * * * *  
  
A week later, they could see the gates of Corus. Kel sighed. "Home sweet home." She said, running down towards the gates. Dom followed closely behind.  
  
A guard looked down from the wall. It was midday, so the gates of the city were open, but he checked anyway.  
  
"Who goes there?" He called down.  
  
"Keladry of Mindelan and Domitan of Masbolle!" Kel called back up. The man's eyes widened and he disappeared. Kel looked at Dom, who shrugged. They walked into the city and up the long road to the palace. Just as they were coming to the stairs, a horn cried out through the city, followed by the great bell, ringing out from the palace.  
  
Kel raised her eyebrows as they rang out. It was a signal. There were many different ones, warning sounds, celebration sounds, and many more, all combinations of the horn and the bell. This one was celebration.  
  
A moment later, the king came out from the palace, followed by Thayet and an array of other knights, and many of the pages, who were all curious to see what had happened.  
  
King Jon was frowning. "Who rang that bell? Absolutely preposterous! All of you, back to where you belong! There is no cause for celebration here!" He looked at Kel and winked. "Come with me." He said to the two of them.  
  
Kel and Dom followed him into the first empty room they came to. Jon couldn't wait to find out how it had gone.  
  
"Well?" He said. "What happened?"  
  
Kel smiled. "Maggur Rathhausak is dead."  
  
Jon clapped his hands together. "Well, I guess there is cause for celebration!" He gestured to their bags. "Leave your things here, they will turn up at your door tomorrow, cleaned and mended."  
  
Kel slipped off her cloak and proceeded to unstrap her armour. Jon sighed. "I will make sure there is a bath waiting for each of you."  
  
He turned to leave. "Your majesty." Kel said. He turned. "Our horses. You sent them home, did they arrive?"  
  
He smiled. "All in one piece? Yes, of course."  
  
He bowed slightly, and Dom and Kel did the same.  
  
By the time the latch on the door had closed, Kel had gotten rid of her armour and put it in a pile in the middle of the room.  
  
"I guess we had better go back to our rooms before we take anything else off." She said. She kissed Dom quickly. "Thank you for coming. I would not have been able to do it alone."  
  
She kissed him again and walked back to her room with the goal of making up for all of the bath time she had missed in the four and a half months.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I love that chapter. So much happens, I never really wanted to stop writing. Besides, I promised a new chapter at 150, and we're only at 148. But, I love this chapter so much that I can't wait, so here it is! Yeah!  
  
Rootless Californian: I'm sorry, but it actually took me almost a week to write it!  
  
PsychoLioness13: Of course. This should satisfy you for a while!  
  
Wake-Robin: Well, now you know. I think this is one of my greatest downfalls: going to Scanra for that could be an entire story, and I end up writing it in just two chapters.  
  
AJ 4EVA: sure thing!  
  
Legofiance: not much fluff in this chapter, but I too noticed the lack of it. There will be more next time. It's just that every time I tried to have a fluff scene, I remembered that they were in very large and cumbersome parkas, and it kind of ruined the mood. That's why they barely even kissed until the got back to Tortall.  
  
Rubber Duck: Nice. You're going to remember that, for sure. And that's sarcasm, if you're also drunk this time. (jokes, jokes)  
  
Anon: Thanks. Yeah...I was thinking French at the time, and I'm really bad with names, and I was picking random syllables and putting them together, but it was from my French book. It's a long and complicated process, but there was no offence meant to the French. I promise. I actually find that I often forget the setting. I've found that fan fiction has helped all of my writing tremendously! Don't worry, I've written page long reviews before...  
  
Anonymous: wait, what are we talking about now? Oh, chapter two... I don't even remember what happens that early in the story! Well, I should do some back reading...  
  
Incensio Lady: absopositivilutely.  
  
Kelly Masbolle: Yes I did! I will check it right now! But which story is it? I couldn't find it...I might be coming to you for help...  
  
Lady Wolfspeaker: heehee...oops....that's one of my other downfalls. I always forget characters, and I always want to add in a stray sentence that says something like 'oh, it's a shame poor Tobe died in that saddle incident three months ago..." see? It's perfect! Wow, I'm a horrible person. I should be shot.  
  
Lady-kitty: Sweet...I do that all the time too, and I'm glad you didn't get bored!  
  
Ophelia-waterhouse: interesting.....  
  
Angels-Sweet-Chikadey: Thank you so much! Great compliment, that's going to be one of my great proud ones...  
  
Pinky: sweet...here's more!  
  
Well, that's it for today. It's going to be a while before I update soon, I've got way too much work to do this week, because I slacked off last week.  
  
"I am the pusher robot. I shove the blind people across the road. WE ARE HERE TO PROTECT YOU FROM THE TERRIBLE SECRET OF SPACE."  
  
-unolimbo 


	19. Propose an idea

After washing more than she ever had before, Kel threw on some breeches and a blouse and went to the mess hall for dinner. She was very excited about having a real meal. The last time she had eaten fresh food was before she left, in November, almost five months ago.  
  
She walked quietly into the mess hall and sat down at a table. It was early, and not very many people were there yet, but Kel didn't mind. Most of her friends were away at camps and forts, mostly Steadfast and New Hope. She hoped New Hope was doing well without her. It had been such a long time since she had been there. She wondered if everyone was well. Had there been battle deaths? There were two pregnant women when she left, had they given birth yet? What about the elderly, did they all survive the winter?  
  
She comforted herself, knowing that the war would end soon and her friends would come home. While she was waiting for the actual meal to be announced, Dom walked in and sat beside her.  
  
"Well, this is fun." He said. "How long do you think it will take to get everyone home?"  
  
Kel frowned. "I'm not sure. It's not like they are going to come home right away. Maggur was a powerful warlord. He held almost ten tribes together for years, when no one had ever held together more than three. (A/N: I'm pretty sure that's what she said in the book...if I'm wrong, please don't tell me, because I know I probably am...she did say it in Squire, but I'm really too lazy to check. Please don't berate me!) Without him, it's only a matter of time before the clans fall. But that's what it will take."  
  
Dom looked confused. "What's what it will take?"  
  
Kel smiled. "Time. Give it time. A few months, maybe. It will happen." She nodded.  
  
Dom shook his head, laughing. "I would bet against it, if I didn't agree."  
  
Kel leaned over and kissed him. She normally didn't agree with public displays of affection. But there was no one there yet, so she didn't mind.  
  
"Dom," she said, grinning, "I think having the palace to ourselves will be fun. We can get plenty of practice in on our horses and at the archery range, and we can go into the city when ever we want."  
  
He frowned. "I just wish I hadn't missed Midwinter."  
  
Kel raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't like celebration?"  
  
He shrugged. "I don't mind it that much, it could be so much worse- besides," he said, "it's not like there were any big celebrations this year. It just would have been nice to be with our friends. It's supposed to be so happy, and there I was, trying to convince you that you weren't going to your death."  
  
Kel blushed. "I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble." She mumbled.  
  
Dom realized what he had said. "Kel, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." He said, placing his hand on hers.  
  
She didn't meet his eye. "Don't worry about it."  
  
She was distant through the entire meal.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kel bade Dom farewell and quickly walked back to her room immediately after supper. Dom let her go. He realized he had insulted her, but he knew she needed space.  
  
Inside, Kel was praying to the gods that he would come and talk to her. She took out her book and sat on her bed, ready for when he knocked on the door. He didn't come. Jump seemed to sense her sadness, and he came to sit in her lap, jumping up and licking her face. She played with him for a while, forgetting about Dom. She was so engrossed that she didn't hear the first knock on her door.  
  
"Kel?" Dom's voice came through the wood. Kel looked up. She quickly jumped up and opened the door. "I'm sorry," said Dom, looking her in the eye, catching her gaze before she could look away. "I really didn't mean to insult you."  
  
Kel smiled. "That's all right. I'm just not in such a great mood right now, that's all. Girl troubles."  
  
Dom shuddered. "Please, don't tell me."  
  
Kel laughed and sat back down on her bed. "You know, I can't wait for our friends to come back."  
  
Dom sat down beside her. "We should have a party." He grinned. "Not a ball, nothing like that. We would never get Raoul to come. But your rooms are fairly large, and they're not even the biggest. We could even do it outside!"  
  
Kel looked him in the eye. "Dom, what kind of party are you implying?" She felt her face getting hotter, but she forced the feeling down.  
  
He smiled sheepishly. "I don't know, I was just thinking, with everyone coming home, and everything going so well, and it being summer soon..."  
  
Kel kissed him before he could finish, taking him by surprise. She pulled back and put a finger to her lips. "Dom," she whispered, "I would love to."  
  
She grinned. She didn't feel it was the right expression for the situation, but she couldn't help herself.  
  
Dom almost leapt on her, kissing her face and neck. "I love you so much, Protector of the Small." He said.  
  
Kel hit him, laughing. "Stop it, that tickles!" She was so busy with that that she didn't hear him.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yes, I realize that was the shortest chapter I have ever written, and I'm sorry, but it is leading up to something, and I really wanted to go to the next chapter starting fresh. If this is too subtle for you (which I truly hope it isn't) than that's too bloody bad. Figure it out.  
  
Rubber Duck: Sweet, yeah non-drunkenness...  
  
AJ 4EVA: glad you love it, and I would be happy to keep it up!  
  
Wake-Robin: thanks...I thought the griffin was a nice touch too. So cool, and his name isn't horrible, or French! (please, French people, don't be insulted...just read my last few chapters and reviews, you will understand)  
  
Lady-kitty: assassin, ay? Well... no. Don't think so. It's just not my kind of story arc. It's a good idea. It really is, but I would ruin it. it's just not my kind of thing.  
  
Rootless Californian: he wasn't really an ass. He had to be in the public eye. Did you notice the very obvious wink? NOTE THE WINK!!!  
  
Kerzikhan: Well, I just answered this. WINK WINK. He winks. He is doing it so not to arouse suspicion about why these two people came into Corus with a celebration bell, looking very dirty. He doesn't want people to know about it yet, so he's keeping it secret! (and please don't ask me how the dude on the wall knew)  
  
Ossini: Bandits are funny. Especially since I used the name of the dude from Chocolat, and he is crazy cool. And Johnny Depp. And he is a pirate. So it all works out, you see? BECAUSE PIRATES ROCK!  
  
Chizzychizchiz: thanks, and I will.  
  
PsychoLioness13: Absolutely. That chapter did kick ass, didn't it? not to blow my own horn, or anything...  
  
Almostlost4wordz: welcome to the occult. Or, cult. I'm not really sure which is more appropriate. Is this like the possum, opossum thing? Anyway, yes it is different, because it is incredibly difficult to copy someone's writing style, even for experts. Now, although Pierce's writing is amazing, it is not one of the greats, by a long shot, (by greats I mean Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, Dickens, etc. etc. etc.) and is thus easier to copy her work. But alas, I am not an expert forger, and thus, my work will go un- Pierce like.  
  
Ladyghost: Uhh, no. I don't like Tobe. He bugs the hell out of me. I don't really know why. And there is really no reason for him to come...and they already went back to the palace.  
  
Well, that's all, and as I'm sure you can tell, I'm really, really hyper. So I must bid you all adieu, look forward to another chapter this weekend, once I have 175 reviews! That's only 14!  
  
-unolimbo 


	20. Tears

To all the people who wrote reviews saying that they want them to get married: read the last section of chapter 19. it's very subtle, but it's there. I promise. Just read it before you read this.  
  
Fhire, and everyone else: I'm putting this at the beginning for only one reason: I forgot about Fhire. I haven't written her in since they left Corus, and I completely forgot that she had not stayed at the camp. I'm really, really sorry, and can we pretend that she has been in the last chapter or so since they got back?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next few days passed slowly for Kel. There was little for her, Fhire and Dom to do. Kel tried to ride, but Peachblossom was angry with her for being gone so long, and as far as she could tell, Hoshi agreed with him. She and Dom practiced sword play and jousting, but because Dom did not have a knights training, Kel beat him easily every time, even though he was a good fighter, and it got boring for both of them. Fhire was a good opponent for her, but they still didn't practice together that often.  
  
Finally getting Hoshi to agree with her, Kel went for a ride out of the city. She galloped along towards the river and stopped there to relax. She let Hoshi loose so she could drink or eat, and pulled off her small pack with her things in it.  
  
She stripped down to her undergarments and waded into the river. It was a silly idea- though it was warm outside, it was still spring, and the water was icy. Kel felt her chest tighten with the cold.  
  
She shivered, but after a moment, her body adjusted, and she dove under the water and glided slowly up the river. She swam for a while and quickly dried off and sat back down on the grass. Just as she was pulling out a piece of bread to eat, she heard footsteps behind her.  
  
She silently drew her sword and stood up. Someone was getting closer. She stepped forward, into some cover. She anticipated where the person would go next, and stepped out of the cover, pointing her sword at his neck.  
  
"Ah!" The person cried, and Kel almost jumped. "Gods, Kel, don't do that!"  
  
Kel pulled back her sword and looked at the man in front of her. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Dom grinned and sat down beside her things. "I couldn't find you, and I was bored. Besides, we've come here before, and I know that it is the best spot to sit by the river. It just made sense that I would find you here." He paused. "Plus, Jan, the boy in the stables, said that you were out riding by the river."  
  
Kel smiled and sat down beside him. "You can't keep a secret from me, can you?"  
  
He shook his head. "I can't. that's why I should just go right out and say it then, shouldn't I?"  
  
Kel looked at him, confused. Say what, she thought. She stayed silent as he rummaged through one of his pockets for something. He found whatever it was he was looking for, and, without letting Kel see it, he sat up. Kel sat up as well, following him. He kneeled on the grass on one knee, but Kel did not follow.  
  
"Kel, I know we spoke of this yesterday, but I should very much like to make it official." He glanced down at the thing in his hand, which turned out to be a box, a tiny, navy, velvet box with even tinier pearls around the edges. It was so beautiful that Kel didn't want to open it, but her heart was beating so quickly in her chest that she did anyway.  
  
She slowly opened the box, her heart beating so loudly in her ears that she barely heard what Dom was saying. He was so quiet, his voice cracking often from speaking so softly.  
  
"Keladry, would you marry me?" He said to her as she opened the velvet box.  
  
In it was a beautiful ring, a silver band with a diamond perched directly in the centre, barely rising above the band, surrounded by a ring of tiny diamonds and garnets, alternating.  
  
Kel felt tears come to her eyes as it shone in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She was just opening her mouth to speak when she looked once more at the ring which she had just slipped onto her finger.  
  
It looked out of place. It was wrong. Kel stopped smiling. She stared at her hand, the large, chapped, dirty thing in front of her, glittering with the light of a thousand candles.  
  
"Dom," she said, shaking her head, letting the tears come now, "I can't."  
  
Dom looked at her, aghast, searching her face for answers. "What's wrong, Kel?" He asked.  
  
Kel shook her head fiercely. "Dom, I can't. this isn't right. You are not allowed to marry, you would lose your place in the own, and I, I am not right for this. I'm not a wife, or a mother, I'm a fighter. And I have worked to hard to be- be- distracted." She stumbled out.  
  
Dom looked to the ground, and they both fell silent. Kel desperately wished he would speak. Her wish came true when Dom leaned back slightly, pushing himself away from her. But it was not what Kel wanted to hear.  
  
"Is that it? I'm a distraction?" He said, throwing his hands out. "Is that all I'm good for?" He said, raising his voice.  
  
Kel shook her head, crying again. "No, Dom, that's not what I meant, I-"  
  
Dom put his hand up. Kel stopped talking, and Dom quickly stood up. "You know what," he said as he did so, "I should go. I wouldn't want to distract you."  
  
He stalked away towards the road, and Kel could hear his horse gallop away. She was left to look between the wedding ring on her finger, and the empty box in her hands.  
  
Kel didn't leave the river until she was sure she looked normal again. She stopped crying moments after Dom left, as she wasn't a big crier; but her face was still puffy and red. Finally, she washed her face in the river and threw her pack on her back. She got back on Hoshi and slowly rode back to the city.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Come in." Dom's voice came through the thick wooden door. Kel turned the doorknob and slid in. Dom looked up at her. "What?" He asked, from his perch on the windowsill.  
  
Kel smiled weakly, but it quickly turned back into her lump face. She slowly walked to the bed and placed the small velvet box in the centre of it. tiny creases appeared in the fabric all around it, pulling it in towards the box, making tiny shadows and marks all around it.  
  
Kel turned and walked away.  
  
Kel quietly slid into her room and sat down at her desk. She sighed as she looked at it. She didn't have too much work when she was at the palace, but she still had to finish her report on their trip to Scanra. She wished she didn't have to do it, because she had already told Jon everything that had happened, but she understood that they needed the reports to put in the hall of records. The papers for it were all over her desk.  
  
Now, Kel was normally a very organized person, but this report was just so much work that she hadn't kept it very neat. She sat down at her desk to work on it. She needed something to get her mind off of everything.  
  
A few minutes after she sat down, there was a knock on her door. "Come in." She sighed.  
  
Fhire stepped in and sat down in a chair on the other side of her desk. Kel sat back. She was glad Fhire was there; she was a welcome distraction.  
  
"What can I do for you, Fhire?" Se asked.  
  
Fhire shook her head. "Nothing specifically, I was just wondering where you were this morning." Jump ran up to her and jumped into her lap, licking her.  
  
Kel smiled weakly. "I went for a swim in the river, and I have to say: not a good idea."  
  
Fhire laughed. "A bit cold?"  
  
Kel nodded. That wasn't all she was talking about, but of course, Fhire didn't know that.  
  
"Umm, Lady Kel," Fhire said, staring at Jump Kel could see that she was upset about something, and it made her nervous. She was always afraid she wouldn't be able to answer her questions. "I think that Triaxx has a cold, or something. I'm not quite sure. What am I supposed to do?"  
  
Kel smiled. Thank goodness, she thought, I know this one! "You've met Daine, haven't you? As far as I know, she is at the palace. We can check if she is here, she should be able to help you."  
  
Fhire grinned. "thank you." They sat for a minute. "Is there something wrong?" Fhire asked after a moment.  
  
Kel looked up. "Wrong?" She asked. Fhire nodded. Everything that had happened swirled through her head. Yesterday she and Dom had been in love, today he had asked her to marry him, and now they were no longer speaking. So much was wrong. She looked Fhire in the eye and slowly said, "no, nothing is wrong."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Three weeks passed before there was any news from the forts. Jon called a meeting to speak about it.  
  
"Good morning," he said to everyone at the table. Kel looked around. The few knights left in Corus were there, as well as Fhire and Dom, Numair Salmalin, whom Kel did not even know was in Corus, and many of the king's advisors. "We are here to discuss the goings on of this war." He said loudly, standing at the head of the table. "I am not sure how much all of you know. Keladry, if you would care to explain? No need for serious detail."  
  
Kel straightened up and her eyes widened. Her he wanted her to explain it? She didn't know she was going to have to say anything. She stood up slowly. "Well, I went to Scanra last autumn, and I returned back in March. My mission was to destroy the Scanran warlord, King Maggur Rathhausak. I succeeded in killing him, during his Midwinter Carnival." She glanced at Jon next to her, who nodded that she had said enough.  
  
She sat back down as everyone at the table started talking loudly amongst themselves. Kel looked at Dom, further down the table on the other side. He was leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest, staring straight forward. He didn't look over at her.  
  
"Thank you, Keladry." Jon nodded at her. "Quiet down!" He said loudly, and slowly, everyone's eyes turned back to him. "Well, as I'm sure you can all remember, before Maggur came into power Scanra was divided. The tribes were at war with each other, none of them got along with each other. No warlord before Maggur could unite them, and we are hoping that none after him will be able to.  
  
"The tribes are already dividing. No one really knows how he got all of the tribes to agree, and thus, no one can copy him. I have reports from Steadfast that there has not been an attack since early February, and the reports say that it was the weakest army they ever encountered.  
  
"Yesterday," Jon said, smiling now, "I received a letter from the Scanran government, wishing to negotiate hostilities against Tortall. Actually, they did not wish to negotiate. They wished to surrender."  
  
The talking broke out again. "Surrender?" Kel heard someone say. "This is a joke!" She heard someone else say. Kel looked down the table again at Dom. This time he was talking with the people around him, nodding his head animatedly at something the person next to him had said.  
  
Kel looked at Numair, who was directly across the table from her. He nodded and smiled at her, leaning forward. "You did very well, Keladry." He said.  
  
Kel smiled. That was a true compliment from Numair. Jon raised his hand for silence again. "Gentlemen, I would like to thank you all for your hard work and dedication during this war. I would especially like to thank Sir Keladry of Mindelan and Domitan of Masbolle for all of their efforts in this war."  
  
There was great applause at the table. Jon nodded at them both. "Thank you for being here. So you all know, I am leaving two squads posted at each fort for the next while, in case of any more occurrences, while everyone else from the forts and camps will be returning home."  
  
Kel slowly put her hand up. "Um, your majesty? What about the refugees?"  
  
He looked at her. "They will be able to go home, now that there is no threat from Scanra."  
  
Kel shook her head. "Most of them have no homes to go to. Their homes were burned and destroyed by Scanran attackers, as well as all their possessions. They have no where to go."  
  
Jon closed his eyes and sighed. "Give me time, Keladry." He leaned down to her. "I will come up with something, don't worry." He smiled. "I've actually been thinking about that, I was just hoping no one would notice that I hadn't made a decision yet." He whispered.  
  
Kel chuckled. "Sorry, your majesty."  
  
A few moments later, they were all dismissed. Kel and Fhire walked down to the practice courts to train. "Lady Kel, I have a question." Fhire asked.  
  
Kel looked up. "What can I do for you?"  
  
Fhire sighed. "Why haven't you and Dom talked?" Kel looked down. "Don't think I haven't noticed." Fhire said. "You haven't spoken in three weeks. You've just avoided each other. You only see each other when I call Dom over at a meal or something. And then one of you makes some silly excuse to get away from each other."  
  
Kel sighed. "We had some problems."  
  
Fhire nodded. "I can see that. Have you solved them?"  
  
Kel shook her head. "I don't think they can be solved." She paused. "He asked me to marry him." Kel said quietly.  
  
"What?" Fhire said. "Lady Kel, that's great?" She paused. "What did you do?"  
  
Kel glared at her. "It wasn't only my fault. I said no. I had my reasons, and I really did want to marry him. But I had to say no."  
  
Fhire nodded. She didn't ask any more.  
  
"Come on," Kel said, jumping up, "let's go practice!"  
  
* * * * *  
  
Two weeks later, the first group returned to the castle. And, to Kel's delight, they were from Steadfast and New Hope. Jon had decided that the refugees would be sent back to their towns, and that builders would be sent to rebuild their homes and plows. The messenger was sent the morning after the meeting, and thus, two weeks later, they came home.  
  
Kel and Fhire were waiting for them when they got there. They were expected in the late afternoon, so Kel and Fhire went outside after lunch to wait. They sat down on the front stone steps and waited. Jump and Triaxx chased each other around at their feet as they played cards on the stairs.  
  
"How long do you think it will take?" Fhire asked, after they had been sitting there for an hour.  
  
Kel smiled. They were getting hot, sitting in the sun. Jump had curled up in the shade of the wall, and Triaxx was sitting on the stair below Fhire, panting. "I doubt it will be much longer." Kel said. "we have been here for a while now, haven't we?"  
  
Fhire nodded. "Wait, is there something down there?" She said, standing up.  
  
Kel stood up as well. "I'm not sure if I see anything." She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked down the hill, towards the edge of the city. "Wait, I do think I see something!" She said. She could see horses at the bottom of the hill. They were definitely carrying people, and Kel could see the glint of armour. She could almost make out their faces...  
  
She sat back down. "Well, we will just have to wait for them."  
  
Fhire smiled. "Lady Kel, I don't mean to be rude, but you are far too patient."  
  
Kel smiled. "Fhire, patience is a virtue, I'm sure people have told you that before." Fhire nodded. "Well, it is true. If you are at war, and you are impatient, you can lose lives. If you attack to early, or you show your hiding spot too early, you can get into trouble. Or if you get bored and leave your post. When I was a squire, I was set on guard on a small pathway that barely anyone knew existed. There was no way that a centaur would be able to find it. But one did, and if I had not been patient and on my guard, I would not be standing here today."  
  
Fhire nodded. Kel smiled. "One more thing:" she said, when I was kidnapped, I had to be patient with my self, and I had to know my own strength. I learned my own strength by being patient with myself, and that's how I survived that."  
  
Fhire sighed. "Why must everything always become serious?"  
  
Kel laughed. "Oh yes, and you must be patient when it comes to your Ordeal. You must get through the entire night, not falling to anything the Chamber throws at you."  
  
Just as Kel finished her little speech, the riders came up to the palace. Kel stood up and they ran down the rest of the stairs.  
  
Neal jumped off his horse and Kel gave him a hug. "Welcome back." She said.  
  
He grinned at her. "Kel, you have to tell me everything! All they told us was that we were coming home, and they wouldn't even tell us what had happened with you, and-"  
  
Kel put her hand up. "Neal, shut up." She said, laughing. "Get your things, I will explain everything!" Neal smiled and grabbed his horse. Kel greeted all of her friends happily, with smiles and hugs. Finally, she went to meet Neal at the stables. She desperately needed someone to talk to. She had held everything inside of her for so long, letting herself breathe when she spoke to Fhire, but still barely.  
  
"Neal?" She said, stepping inside the stables.  
  
"Over here, Kel!" She heard him say from his horses stall. Kel walked over to him. "What can I do for you?" He said, pulling his horses tack off of the stall's wall and bringing it to the tack room.  
  
Kel followed him in, and after he had put his tack away, they went outside. "Well, you can do a lot for me."  
  
Neal smiled. "Ha! Chalk up one for Neal!"  
  
Kel rolled her eyes as she sat down on the bench beside him. "Everything has gone wrong." She said. Neal looked sympathetic, and she knew she had to explain. She took a deep breath and began. "Well, we came back for a mission. I came back to kill Maggur." Neal raised his eyebrow. Kel continued. "I succeeded, over four months I went to Scanra, killed Maggur, and came back. Dom went with me, and when we got back, he asked me to marry him."  
  
Neal sat back in disbelief. "Dom? He asked you to marry him? Dom, the king of flirts, married?"  
  
Kel shook her head. "I said no." She said quietly. Neal opened his mouth to say something, but Kel cut him off. "I said I didn't want distractions, and I didn't want to ruin all my work, and I insulted him. He just left. I gave him back his ring, and we haven't spoken since."  
  
Neal put his arm around her. "When was this?"  
  
"Five weeks ago." She choked on her words.  
  
"Five? Kel, that's not right! You two were in love, and now you aren't even speaking? Oh, Kel."  
  
She nodded. "I know. It's not that I don't love him, I do, with all my heart, but I just can't marry him. Not now."  
  
Neal nodded. "But you want to?"  
  
She nodded. She was starting to cry. "I love him so much, Neal, I just wish I could do something. I want to be with him, and I want to marry him."  
  
Neal sighed. "I understand. I feel the same way about Yuki." He smiled. "Just follow your heart, Kel, it will tell you what to do."  
  
Kel nodded. "I am trying. I just want to be with him, without troubles like this. I love him, Neal."  
  
He kissed her forehead. "I know, Kel. I know."  
  
Kel let the tears fall, and Neal just sat with her.  
  
Neither of them saw Dom, inside the stables, turn and walk to the other door.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ooh, I love this chapter! I thought that the emotions were crazy cool...  
  
And please, don't write me reviews saying she cryed too much, ok? I get it, she's a frickin' lump.  
  
Wake-Robin: indeed!  
  
Legofiance: thank you. I'm very proud of my work!  
  
Rootless Californian: well, that's still a perfectly valid opinion. I guess I just saw it in a different way. And you are NOT too retarded to see where this is going. For god's sake, I don't even know where it is going!  
  
Ellabelle1: I know it was short...I was leading up to this 'emotional breakthrough' as I call it. And you're right, it wasn't too clear. I might go back and change it around a bit.  
  
Rubber Duck: Thanks! And I'm sure you expected this...while I'm sure that it's not too, too obvious, I think that you probably had the right idea.  
  
Anon: indeed. And this chapter does damn well with it!  
  
Lady of Masbolle: Sweet! 'Queen of Kel/Dom fics!' I like!  
  
PsychoLioness13: Of course!  
  
Lady-kitty: thanks, I'm glad you like it. I will keep writing, of course!  
  
Legofiance (again): hee hee... I think you will love this chapter.  
  
AJ 4EVA: I will...do you write the same thing every time? It looks familiar.  
  
Person who wants u to update: Of course!  
  
Kerzikhan: of course, I answer every review! And I'm glad you like it.  
  
Kelly Masbolle: yonks? What on earth are yonks? I'm glad you think they're so good, and I bet I ruined your hopes and dreams with this chapter, eh?  
  
Eat paper: Well sorry, I'm having fun! Except that this chapter honestly made me cry... wow I'm a loser.  
  
Fhire: I'm not even going to bother with that review.  
  
Fhire (again): Thanks! See, I remembered to put Fhire in!  
  
Fhire (god, just write one!): I put him in, I put him in! Didja see, didja see?  
  
Well, that's all for today. Hopefully (this isn't a promise!) next chapter will be happier.  
  
-unolimbo 


	21. balls and broken hearts

"Kel," Neal said, "how long has it been since you talked at all?"  
  
Kel thought about it. since he asked her to marry him, the only thing he had directed to her was 'what.' "I returned the ring, and he said, "what?" when I came in the door." She spoke truthfully. She could have easily come up with lies, but there was no reason to lie to Neal.  
  
"Gods, Kel, this is wrong! You two were perfect, anyone could see that. I think you should go and talk to him. He is never going to want to speak to you if you don't try."  
  
Kel sighed. "But he never tries to speak to me!" She said.  
  
Neal shook his head. "But both of you could go on like that forever. Don't you want him back?" Kel nodded. "Of course you do. So do something about it."  
  
Kel smiled. "Thanks, Neal." She chuckled, "who knew you were such a great listener- and helper?"  
  
He grinned back. "I am skilled in the art of romancing. Hi-yah!" He made a slashing movement with his hand, making Kel laugh.  
  
"Maybe I shouldn't trust you," she said, "if that is how you treat romance!"  
  
She stood up. "Come, it is getting late, and you must be getting hungry from your trip." As if on cue, Neal's stomach growled. Kel laughed. "Go have a bath, Neal, and I will meet you in the mess hall."  
  
They bade farewell, and when they reached the palace, they turned different way; Kel, to the mess hall; Neal, to his rooms. Just as Kel was turning a corner she felt a hand grasp her shoulder. as she was in the palace, she fought her greatest instinct to flip whoever it was, and turned and looked at them.  
  
"Is it true?" Dom said.  
  
Kel looked in his eyes, bewildered. "Dom, what are you talking about?" She asked softly.  
  
He shrugged. "I just want to know if it's true." He said, looking down. He wouldn't meet her eye. Kel said nothing, still greatly confused. "Never mind. Just forget it." he said. He turned away from her and walked away.  
  
Kel tried to call him back, but her voice didn't work; she tried to run after him, but her legs would not move. All she could do was watch his back as he walked further, and further away.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Almost a month after Neal and the others came to Corus, everyone, including Kel, was called out to the towns of the refugees to help rebuild their homes and businesses. Kel greatly dreaded the expedition through the entire trip, as she was an atrocity when it came to carpentry. Once they began work, she was given the job of hauling wood from one place to another, just so she wouldn't ruin any more of their nails.  
  
Every refugee family was given a house according to the size of their family. An old widow would be given a small house while a family of five would be given a much larger one, even if the woman was very rich, and the family, poor. Kel rather liked the system. Many of the richer refugees tried to pay to get bigger houses and stores built, but the knights always said, no, there would not be enough wood for everyone if we did that.  
  
While Kel dreaded the carpentry, she did welcome the distraction. She rarely saw Dom, whereas at the palace, she would see him almost every single day, if only from a distance. Now, there could be an entire town between them. She didn't know how she survived, really. All of Dom's friends were her friends, and all of her friends were Dom's, and yet they rarely encountered each other.  
  
Finally, after almost two months of work in the hot sun of June and July, they were ready to leave the town. Some of the Own and the other men rejoiced, but Kel knew better. They were just moving to the next town.  
  
The next town happened to be very near the first one, and very tiny indeed. They built very few stores, only a tiny town hall and one colonnade. They built farms. Barns were the largest, and most difficult thing Kel had ever helped to make. Each one took days, and Kel wished there was some way to get around them. One of the richer farmers demanded that Raoul give him a bigger farmhouse. It was the greatest argument Kel had seen in a long time.  
  
"What is the meaning of this, Sir?" The man said. He was dressed in a great fur coat that was tattered and thin. His wife beside him looked miserable, holding her young child in her arms. Normally that would have saddened Kel, but while they were horribly dirty and badly groomed, their clothes were quite obviously rich. The child wore a pink dress, complete with hoops and a child's corset, while the mother wore what had been the most fashionable dress one could buy before the war. They had obviously made regular trips to Corus before.  
  
"I'm sorry, Joseph. I cannot allow you to have more than the others." Raoul said, not stopping his hands hammering away.  
  
Joseph took a step forward. "I was the richest farmer in the land. I sold the crops that you eat, can you not help me?" He said, changing his stance.  
  
Raoul shook his head. "Wouldn't be fair."  
  
Joseph scowled. "Of course it would! Is it not fair that every man gets what he lost?"  
  
Raoul shook his head. "Not really, no." He continued, before the man could interrupt, "You see, the way I look at it, if you had such a prosperous farm, you must have been a good, steady farmer. But I look at you, and I see a frail man with a weak frame. You were no farmer. You hired others to do your work for you. And while that is admirable, yes, I just feel that you don't deserve to keep it all that much. I think I would be better off building larger homes for your workers, who probably need them more."  
  
Joseph opened his mouth to say something, but Raoul wasn't listening any more. He had walked off in the other direction to get more nails.  
  
They stayed at the town, Janack, for another two weeks. Afterward, they traveled slowly back to Corus, ready for any messengers to tell them that they had another town to go to.  
  
None came, and they arrived safely back in Corus. Safe, albeit dirty. Kel took a welcome bath, and, the next day, she and Fhire went down to Lalasa's shop to speak to her about dresses for the upcoming balls. Kel had been informed of the by Raoul, who said that the end of a war always meant balls, even though he felt their energy and money could be better spent helping the refugees and the land.  
  
Kel stepped into the small shop only moments after it opened. A small bell attached to the door chimed as she entered.  
  
"One moment please!" Came a muffled voice from the back of the store. A moment later, a small woman emerged. "Goddess bless, Lady Kel!" She said. She ran over and gave Kel a hug. "What can I do for you? A dress, maybe? How are you? Were the towns miserable?"  
  
Kel smiled and put up her hand. "Lalasa, you sound like a little child."  
  
Lalasa blushed.  
  
"Don't worry, the towns are in a fine state now. I am fine, thank you," Kel said, knowing that deep inside, she was not. She ignored the feeling that she was lying to her friend and continued. "A dress would be perfect, thank you. I have been informed that there are balls coming up, and I should very much like to go in style." She smiled.  
  
Lalasa grinned, clapping her hands together. "Wonderful!" She said, turning to Fhire. "Goodness, Lady Fhire, I did not see you." Lalasa curtsied. "Welcome to my shop."  
  
Fhire laughed. She and Kel always found it funny how serious Lalasa took her. "Do you both need dresses?" Lalasa asked.  
  
Kel nodded. "I'm not sure if Fhire will be serving at these balls or not. I believe she will be, but I would like her to have something, just in case."  
  
Lalasa clapped her hands together again, and set out to measure them both.  
  
Two weeks later, when the first ball was announced, and Kel was ready. Fhire was indeed serving the dinner, but she insisted that she didn't mind. Kel then insisted that Fhire join her at the reception of the dance, no matter what. She had bought her a beautiful dress, and she wanted to see her in it.  
  
"Do you have a date, Lady Kel?" Fhire asked. Kel shook her head, and Fhire spoke nothing else of the matter.  
  
Kel was seated at a table with a few of her good friends. Neal was beside her, and Yuki, who had returned from the Yamani Islands, where she had been visiting for a year, was beside him. (A/N: I don't know if I ever had Yuki in the story. I really don't want to look back. If she was, I'm sorry. But for now, we say she was there for a year. I don't think I included her in the last year and a half...) Merric and a court lady Kel did not know were next to them, Dom across from Kel, Owen beside him, and Raoul and Buri were on Kel's right.  
  
Kel enjoyed the dinner part of the ball. She ate with her friends, which made her happy, and though there were nine of them, Kel could speak to anyone she pleased at the large round table.  
  
She spoke with Yuki often, and Yuki even ended up switching seats with her lover so that she could chat with Kel. She did her best to ignore Dom across from her. As far as she could tell, he was doing his best to ignore her.  
  
Kel thought the dinner was lovely, especially since Fhire was assigned to her table, where they could tease her mercilessly and hope that she would slip up and drop something on someone- they were all betting on Neal.  
  
Finally, it came time for the reception. Kel went back to her rooms directly after the meal to help Fhire with her dress.  
  
"Lalasa has made it too complicated for one girl to solve herself." Fhire said.  
  
Kel laughed. "I hate to see the fashions in the future. They will be a maze."  
  
They chatted for a while as Kel tied up her dress, and then quickly made their way to the ballroom.  
  
A while in, Kel looked to her side and noticed that Fhire was gone. She thought nothing of it, but raised an eyebrow when she saw her squire step inside from the garden holding hands with a very handsome young squire.  
  
Kel spent most of her night in a chair by the side of the room, chatting with various friends who came by. Yuki and Neal came often, but left to dance every few moments. Kel was never alone, she had constant company from young court girls asking her how she did it, to which Kel responded, "how do you do it?" gesturing at her tight bodice. The girls giggled softly behind their gloved hands.  
  
Kel looked at her own hands as they walked away. They didn't look so horrible now. The bruises and scratches from the carpentry were gone, and being at the palace for two weeks made them soft. They didn't seem so big any more.  
  
Kel stared at it, sitting in her lap. It seemed incomplete. Kel tried to imagine herself holding a sword. The cool metal hilt touched the flesh of her hand, where her thumb met her fingers, and she could feel the warm leather ridges in the handle. It didn't work. That was not why it felt incomplete. She tried pretending she was gripping a glaive, a bow and arrow, an axe.  
  
Nothing worked. She knew why she felt so incomplete. She had felt so incomplete for months now. She knew that she had to do something about it.  
  
She looked up, scanning the room for Dom. She saw him, at the other end of the dance hall, with a young court lady leaning in very close to him.  
  
Kel blinked back tears as she saw the young girl kiss him lightly. He smiled, but his face quickly turned back to the way he looked when he was bored.  
  
She doesn't know him, Kel thought. I can see he is bored. I would know to take him walking, or talk to him now. She looked back at them. Dom no longer looked bored. Had it all been in Kel's head? Had she just imagined that he was bored with any other girl but her?  
  
She stood up. Tomorrow, she would speak to him. Clear her mind. She got her chance sooner than expected, when they both left the ballroom at the same time. They walked along, side by side, both looking at the floor. Neither of them spoke.  
  
After a silence that felt like a thousand years, Kel looked up. They were almost at her rooms, while Dom would continue further, away from the knights rooms, towards the rooms for the men of the Own.  
  
"I still love you." She said quietly, choking on her words. She didn't know why she had said it. it was the first thing that came to her mind, and she wanted to be honest with him.  
  
Dom looked taken aback. He didn't say anything in response. He slowed, but did not stop, when Kel reached her rooms. "Goodnight." He said, his voice clear and strong.  
  
Kel nodded and opened the door. She slipped in and collapsed on her bed, crying.  
  
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Wow...I'm updating so quickly that there seem to be no reviews here! Hee hee, oh well, I expect double next time!  
  
-unolimbo 


	22. I Love You

Kel tried to cry herself to sleep, with no avail. Her dress was too tight, and when she lay down, she had trouble breathing, and she did not wish to die in the night, so she rose and took it off. Just as she had taken the first layer of fabric off, there was a knock on the door.  
  
Kel sighed and wiped her eyes. "One moment, please." She said. She threw a dressing robe over what was left of her dress. She thought herself to look rather silly, her dressing robe, undone, showing the tan coloured lace of the corset she wore, with it falling over her massive skirts.  
  
She opened the door a crack, just to make sure it was not someone she needed to be decent for. It was only Fhire, so Kel opened the door and let her in.  
  
"Could you have not gone to your own rooms?" She asked.  
  
Fhire smiled. "I could see the light through the door. I thought I would come calling." She did a sloppy curtsey.  
  
Kel smiled. "Very well. Sit down." She said, and Fhire sat in an arm chair by the window. "I believe you enjoyed yourself tonight, am I correct?" Kel said.  
  
Fhire blushed. "Yes." She squeaked.  
  
Kel smiled again. "Fhire, there is nothing to be ashamed of. I did the same thing, when I was your age."  
  
Fhire grinned, sitting up. "Really? With whom?"  
  
Kel looked her squire in the eye. She was actually interested. Kel shook her head, chuckling. "No one you know." He thought about it. "Well, maybe. Cleon of Kennan. I had a romance with him when I was a squire, but he had to marry to help his family. He came back just days before I got you as my squire, asking for me back, but I turned him down."  
  
Fhire nodded. "Are you glad you did?"  
  
Kel nodded. "With all my heart. The night he came back," he paused, "was the night that Dom kissed me."  
  
Fhire giggled. Kel knew that they both felt like young court ladies right now, giggling about their first kisses after a ball. They chatted for a little while, the talk shifting, as it always did, from kissing to weapons. After a while, they began to speak of squiring and page training.  
  
"Did you know that there is another girl in the palace? Aleydis, I believe her name is." Kel said.  
  
Fhire grinned. "Of course I know her. She is my sister."  
  
Kel nodded. "that would be a reason to know her, wouldn't it?" She yawned. "Gods, it's late. Come now, it's time for bed. She ushered Fhire back to her rooms and removed the rest of her dress, falling asleep as soon as she hit her mattress.  
  
The next few weeks passed without mention. There were one or two more balls, but Kel spent most of her time practicing, and working. As a knight, she had to be ready for action at any time, but through the weeks she only left the city once, to deal with a group of bandits who had ventured too close to the city.  
  
One day, at the very beginning of September, Kel went back to the river. It was hard for her to do- she had not been since the fateful day almost five months ago. It was still hot out, and Kel desperately wanted a swim. But really, she just wanted to clear her mind. She wanted to tell herself that everything that had happened on that afternoon had been an accident, an abnormality, that if she went back, it would all be fixed.  
  
She took Hoshi down with her, but she didn't ride her. It was a long walk, almost two hours, but Kel enjoyed it. Her friends knew where she was, in case she took too long, and she had a small lunch with her. As she got closer to the water, she could hear a voice. She left Hoshi to wander, with the order to not go closer to the water yet, and ventured down, closer to the voice.  
  
It was a man's voice. That she could tell. She look around a corner. He was alone. He was only talking to his horse. Kel smiled, until she realized who it was- Dom. She spun back and threw herself against the tree, fighting back tears. "This was not a good idea," she whispered to herself, over and over.  
  
She regained her composure and slowly stepped out from behind the tree, taking quick strides towards the water, Hoshi trailing behind. Dom looked up as she walked past him, his eyes following her all the way to the water. She threw down her blanket and pulled out her lunch. She ate it slowly, trying to check if Dom was still staring at her. He was.  
  
"Can I help you with something?" She said coldly. She hated to be so mean. She wished she could just run over and kiss him, but she knew it impossible.  
  
Dom slowly shook his head. They stared at each other for a moment, when Kel went back to her food. Slowly, Dom looked back down to his book.  
  
They sat in silence for almost an hour, barely noting each other, except on the rare occasion that they both looked up at the same time.  
  
Kel had been staring at him for a few minutes when she decided enough was enough. She sighed and threw down the book she had been reading. "That's it." She said, getting up and striding over to Dom. He looked up at her, no emotion in his eyes.  
  
"Look, Dom," she said, knowing that no matter how hard she tried she was going to tell him everything. She didn't try to stop herself, she just let everything pour out. "I have just about had enough of this. I love you, I know that, you know that. As far as I could tell, you loved me back. I did not mean that you were simply a distraction, I meant that you would distract me sometimes. I was not telling you that I don't want to be with you, quite the opposite.  
  
"I want to be with you forever. I love you, more than I have ever loved anything, and more than I think it possible to love anyone else. And if you could just get it through your fat head that I am willing to give things up for you, I am willing to sacrifice. I am just not willing to sacrifice my entire life. That is not because I don't love you enough.  
  
"It's because I love you too much. I know that if I gave up this life for you, I would change, and not for the better, and I fear that you would not love me any more. I would have to leave being a knight to have a family, and you would lose your job for marrying. I said no because it would ruin your life more than mine. And if you cannot see that, than you deserve a silly little court lady to dance with."  
  
She turned on her heel and strode back to Hoshi. She quickly threw everything into her pack, leapt on her horse, and galloped away.  
  
She quickly unsaddled Hoshi and asked the stable boy to groom her for her. She had never done that before, even though she was allowed. She felt, as she had been taught, that it was a knights duty to tend to his horse. But she couldn't do it right now, so she left her horse with Jan.  
  
Kel ran back to her room and locked the door. She checked Fhire's room, but, as she had given the girl the day off, she was out somewhere with her year mates. Kel locked the door between their rooms as well, just in case, and collapsed on her window seat.  
  
She didn't cry. She wanted to, but she felt dried out, shrivelled, like a prune, like she had nothing left in her to cry. She knew why. She had stood up for herself, and for what she believed in, and she had told Dom the truth. She had told him how she felt, and it was up to him to respond.  
  
She tried to read, but her brain wouldn't focus. She tried to write, but her hands were shaking too much. She settled on looking out her window, her head pressed up against the cool glass.  
  
No one came to her room. It was only early afternoon, yes, barely three o'clock, but she was anxious. Four o'clock, and no one came. She was just about to go out to the stables to thank Jan when there was a knock on the door.  
  
Kel felt her chest tighten. Slowly, she rose and walked to the door. Left foot, right foot, she told herself. The person knocked again, more softly this time. Kel put her hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly. She felt the cool brass ball in her hands. It was sticky with the sweat of summer. She felt it click, and slowly pulled the door back to show her Dom.  
  
He looked stern. He did not look happy, but then again, he did not look angry.  
  
"Thank you." He said, his voice a whisper, as if he hadn't spoken in days.  
  
He did not break his gaze. Kel did not budge. With all that she had said and done to get him to come back, that did not seem like enough. She hadn't done him any favours.  
  
He looked at her. He coughed slightly, clearing his throat. Kel gripped the doorknob tighter in anticipation for what he might say.  
  
"I'm sorry." He said to her. Kel didn't move.  
  
"I'm sorry, Kel." He said again. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He faded off. Kel continued to stare at him until she could not hold it any more.  
  
She smiled. Very slowly, the almost frown that had been set on her face tilted upwards. It was the tiniest of smiles; Kel could see that Dom barely acknowledged it. She felt like she didn't know how to smile anymore, it had been such a long time since she smiled at him. Every time she had seen him, it had been Yamani lump that he saw.  
  
Finally, she found herself almost grinning at him. He looked confused. Was she mocking him, he must have thought. Before he could ask, Kel kissed him. She didn't know why, she didn't even feel it the right thing to do. She just kissed him. She reached forward and held on to him, her eyes closed, her lips clinging to his. She pulled back away from him and went back to the way they had been standing before, except this time, Kel was blushing immensely.  
  
Dom stared at her. As if on cue, he smiled at her, and Kel let herself breathe. It would be all right. She didn't know how, but they would plough through it. Together. Kel smiled back, and she kissed him again. Everything fell into place. They stood there for a long time, just kissing each other, familiarizing themselves with each others mouths.  
  
Neither of them noticed Neal and Yuki walk by on their way to dinner, giggling uncontrollably.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kel didn't go to dinner that night. By the time she and Dom pulled apart from each other, the meal had started, and it would have been rude to go in late, Dom said.  
  
They stayed in Kel's room, sitting by the window, Kel in Dom's arms, talking about everything in their lives that the other had missed for such a long time.  
  
Kel couldn't understand it. everything seemed so comfortable together. If they had been speaking of anything else, it would be like they had never been apart.  
  
Dom didn't go back to his room that night. They had so much to say to each other that they stayed sitting on the window seat until almost dawn, and when Kel fell asleep, Dom carried her to her bed and fell asleep beside her.  
  
Kel woke up to a knock on her door the next morning. It was late- almost ten o'clock, later than Kel had slept in years, but then again, she had not slept until dawn, barely five ours earlier.  
  
She didn't move. She was too comfortable. She pretended to still be asleep, hoping that the person would leave. They didn't. Dom, who had been lying on top of her bed, instead of in it, rolled off and went to the door.  
  
Fhire was standing there with a plate of toast and juice. "Good morning, sleepy heads." She said, grinning. "I know that you have not eaten anything since breakfast yesterday, except a tiny lunch, so I brought you something." She thrust the toast at Dom as Kel rolled over to look at her.  
  
Fhire walked over and gave her the juice, and flopped down on her bed. Dom leaned against the wall as he ate his toast. As soon as they had finished, Fhire took their plates and walked to the door to her rooms. "I think you two should get up soon. Neal was very excited." She winked at Kel, who rolled her eyes as her squire closed the door.  
  
"Let's never fight again." Kel said as Dom came and sat with her. "I hate the way they treat us after we do."  
  
Dom smiled. "It doesn't bother me too much. At least they leave us alone." He pushed her over.  
  
Kel laughed as he kissed her neck. "I've told you before, that tickles!" Kel said, laughing.  
  
"I love you so much, Protector of the Small." Dom said.  
  
This time, Kel heard him.  
  
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Wow, I have now updated three times in the course of 8 hours. 5 am, then I went to sleep, and now I'm updating twice. I rock. Boo-yah.  
  
This story is now tied for most chapters, and long in the lead for most words. And, it's my favourite! (this is just between my stories, so you know, though I do rock)  
  
"You look familiar, have I threatened you before?"  
  
-unolimbo 


	23. A new life, and a new mission

Normally, Kel didn't like staying at the palace. She found that, even with practice, her skills weakened. But now, that didn't matter. She was happy to be at the palace, to be with her friends, to just relax. She had been there such a long time, but she hadn't really relaxed since she and Dom had fought, five months earlier.  
  
"Dom, we need to talk." Kel said one day. Her heart rate was up again, and her palms were sweaty.  
  
He looked up from his book. "Mm hmm?" He said.  
  
Kel sat down beside him. "Well, I have had almost six months to think about every possible option, and-" she took a deep breath. "I decided I will marry you. If you still want to, of course." She added quickly.  
  
Dom sat up. "Kel, you don't have to do this just for me, you know."  
  
She smiled. "Does that mean you still want to?"  
  
He held her hand. "Tell me honestly, Kel, is this because you want to?" he asked her.  
  
She looked him in the eye. "I do want to, I promise. I wanted to before, but I thought that it wasn't the best route. I realized that if we just do nothing, we will end up being separated somehow, and when we were separated, nothing felt right."  
  
He smiled at her. "Honestly, Kel, I never thought I would see the Lady Knight so sentimental."  
  
Kel laughed. "If you're not careful, you won't again."  
  
Dom kissed her. "All right, I'm sorry. Look, I'll meet you by the water tomorrow at noon, all right?"  
  
Kel looked at him, confused. "The water at noon? Why?"  
  
Dom grinned. "You will see, don't worry."  
  
He kissed her again, and got up. "See you tomorrow." He said, and was gone before Kel could question him.  
  
The next day, as Dom had told her to, Kel walked down to the river. She would have ridden, but she had broken Hoshi's tack the day before, and Peachblossom was sick. After a two hour walk, Kel finally arrived at the river, where Dom was already waiting.  
  
She expected him to ask her why se had no horse, but he didn't. He brought her down to the water and they sat down. He pulled out the same box as the time before, and presented it to Kel. He got down on one knee.  
  
"Keladry of Mindelan, will you marry me?"  
  
Kel smiled as she opened the box. She saw something she did not expect. It was not the ring she had seen before. He had gotten her a different one. It was about a half of the size in width, barely three millimetres wide, with a tiny row of diamonds, again, alternating with garnets.  
  
Kel looked up and smiled. "Of course." She said, and she kissed him. Dom pulled her up and grabbed her by the waist, spinning her around. Kel laughed as he did so.  
  
"Why did you change the ring?" She asked.  
  
Dom shrugged. "I knew that last time, you had realized all that about not wanting to distract yourself when you looked at the ring. I thought maybe the ring was too intimidating.  
  
"Besides," he said, holding Kel's hand, "I want it to fit under your armoured gloves, just in case."  
  
Kel smiled. "You just thought of everything, didn't you?"  
  
Dom kissed her again. "That's my job."  
  
A few minutes later, they got up and walked over to Dom's horse. "Hey, where is your horse?" Dom said, finally noticing.  
  
Kel smiled. "I walked. Hoshi's bridle snapped, and Peachblossom is ill."  
  
Dom raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm certainly not going to leave you out here alone, now, am I?" He gave her his hand and she jumped up on his horse behind him. It was only a half hour ride at a trot, but Kel's backside protested the entire way. As did Dom's horse, who constantly whinnied complaints for the entire ride back.  
  
Kel went back to her room afterwards to tell Fhire, and to change for dinner. She intercepted Fhire on her way there.  
  
"Fhire, look!" She held up her hand for Fhire to see.  
  
The girl smiled. "Congratulations, Lady Kel."  
  
Kel raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem very excited." She said.  
  
Fhire shrugged. "I guess I expected it. Oh yes, and Dom told me."  
  
Kel smiled. "Did he want to verify that I would say yes?"  
  
Fhire nodded. Kel was exactly right.  
  
As she was getting dressed for dinner, there was a knock on Kel's door. She called out for Fhire to answer it. Fhire quickly answered it. "It's a messenger." She said. "From the king."  
  
Kel poked her head out of her dressing room. "What is it?"  
  
He bowed, blushing slightly, as if he could imagine what was behind the screen. "the king requests that you dine with him, in the private dining room." Kel raised an eyebrow. "He wishes to hold a meeting during the meal for a number of the knights, as he said it cannot wait."  
  
Kel sighed. "I will be there."  
  
The messenger bowed and departed.  
  
"Well, Fhire, it looks like we're eating with the king tonight."  
  
A few minutes later, Kel and Fhire were at the door of the royal family's private dining room. Kel knocked, and was immediately admitted in. there was a large table, set up for at least twenty people. there were a few there already.  
  
In a quarter of an hour, the table was filled with knights and members of the King's Own.  
  
"Quiet down!" Jon said from the head of the table, after they had all received their food. "We have a serious problem." Jon was never one to mince words. "We thought that the threat of Scanra was over. We were wrong. There is a new warlord, not as powerful as Maggur, but he is gaining strength at every turn. My spies tell me that he will be ready to attack our borders in less than a week. We must act now!  
  
"We will re-occupy the forts by the border and attack strong and fast. We will not let them get the upper hand! I want five squads in every camp, along with one squad of the King's Own. You will leave before dawn tomorrow, all of your men. You will have one week to get to your destination, and in ten days, you will attack from every point. I do not want this war to last for years. You will go into Scanra, and wipe out their armies. The forts will be filled with the squads. Along with those squads, there will be 50,000 men."  
  
Someone laughed. "Sir, that is impossible! We cannot recruit an army of 50,000 and get them to the battle field in ten days! It is folly."  
  
Jon frowned. "I will not be contradicted, and I will not be wrong. We were ready for this, you see. There is an army ready, waiting for action. They have been preparing for weeks, and they are ready. As I said, you will set off tomorrow.  
  
"Now, to your assignments." He took out a sheet of papers and began listing off squads, and saying where they would go. Finally, he came to Kel and her friends. "Sir Keladry of Mindelan, you are to be commander of Steadfast. Sir Nealan of Queenscove, you will be ranking healer at Steadfast, and second in command..."  
  
He continued, but Kel wasn't listening. She was to be commander of a fort? Sure, she had commanded a refugee camp, but that was nothing like this. She rarely saw war, and when she did, it was small, and she had few men to command.  
  
Kel walked out of the meeting feeling slightly queasy. Dom caught up with her and wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing, making Kel feel like she was going to throw up. "This is wonderful, sweets, I'm going to be at Steadfast as well!"  
  
Kel smiled weakly. "Wonderful." She said.  
  
Dom frowned. "Ok, spit it out."  
  
Kel sighed. "I'm nervous. A fort is too much for me. I cannot command this many men, and I don't think I'm ready for it."  
  
Dom smiled. "Kel, you are one of the best knights in the realm. I think the only ones who better you in everything are Raoul, and possibly Alanna, if she tries really hard."  
  
Kel smiled. "Thank you, but it's not true."  
  
Dom shook his head. "Think about it, Kel: you were squire to the best knight in the realm, where you excelled; you ran two separate refugee camps beautifully; you killed Blayce; you were kidnapped and survived; you killed Maggur himself; and now you are commanding the fort that the only other person who has commanded it is the best knight in the realm- the same one that you were squire to."  
  
Kel sighed. "I guess. I just hope this goes quickly. We must be home by Midwinter."  
  
Dom kissed her forehead. "You will be fine."  
  
They left before dawn the next morning. Sadly, Kel had to leave Peachblossom at home- he had gotten worse. Kel hoped he fared better while she was gone. Daine promised that she would tend to him as well as she could. Tobe had come back to Corus after everyone left the refugee camp, but as Kel had a squire, he was not needed, and he got a job in the stables. He too promised to keep an eye on Peachblossom. Kel had Hoshi's tack fixed, but she was still down a horse. Kindly, the king lent her one of the horses that were prepared for the new pages.  
  
"It's been a long time since I was at war, really." Kel said one day. "Almost a year. We left the fort, when was it, last November? It's September now. Ten months away from war. A girl could get used to that."  
  
Dom laughed. "It's true, we could get used to it. but we could get used to war, as well."  
  
They arrived at Steadfast a few days later. By the time it was time to attack, Steadfast was beyond ready. There were ten thousand men camped outside of Steadfast, all of whom Kel was commanding. She was ready for them, too. On September 20th, they departed for Scanra.  
  
The Scanrans were expecting to attack, themselves, a week later.  
  
Tortall would succeed.  
  
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Erkith: Glad you like it!  
  
AJ 4EVA: I need to stop responding. Do you just copy and paste every email? It's a good idea, it really is.  
  
Wake-Robin: thanks! No, it's not the end. This is one of those stories where I just keep getting new ideas. In the world of Tortall, there is always something new to happen. I actually thought that the mouths thing was a little too much, and I thought people wouldn't like it!  
  
Chizzychizchiz: of course!  
  
Ellabelle1: longest review EVER! I actually thought she did get a little too mushy...oh well. Thanks! She is sometimes stone around her friends, but she mentions in the book that it has been such a long time since she was in the Yamani islands that she is no good at it any more, and I like to play up on that. Hee hee...I like that too. I thought that Fhire had no personality, no depth. I'm really planning to go into her a lot more, especially after she becomes a knight. She will no longer be a kid, she will be a friend, and a good one at that. Maybe...you will see. Kel agreed to marry him in this chapter, but they didn't talk about how he can't marry. They realized they were past that, it wasn't important enough to keep them apart, and they will deal with it later. Its going to play a part, don't worry. Thanks for writing such a good review!  
  
Ellabelle1 (2, I guess...): I don't even remember that part...I've been writing too much! Oh well. Maybe I'll change it, unless I really like it. thanks again!  
  
Anon: who said anything about wanting to end it?  
  
"My god, you're like a trained ape! Without the training!"  
  
-unolimbo 


	24. War

Okay, I only have one thing to say: ITS NOT OVER 'TIL I SAY ITS OVER!  
  
I have said nothing about it ending, but I've gotten, like, five emails asking if it's over. ITS NOT. Thank you.  
  
I would like to rant. If you are not interested in my Dom rant, just ignore it, it's not really that important. Now, I could be horribly wrong, so I'm sorry in advance. I don't remember if it says in Lady Knight, but I have always imagined Dom as being not much older than Kel. In Squire, in Kel's first year, he is introduced as their 'new' sergeant. So I assumed that he was maybe, twenty, twenty-one at the most. Kel was 15 at this time, because four years as a page meant that she ended at 14 and started the squiring at 15. So really, he was only about 5 years older than her, in my crazy brain place. If it says it in the book, I'm sorry and ignore me please, but for the sake of my story, I don't really want him that old. I like my Dom young and cute, thank you very much. I am sticking with the 'five years older' thing. AT THE MOST. Please don't complain. It's my story, I'll do what ever I want! (grr...rowf... I'm evil and grumpy. Leave me alone.) no, I just like it that way, and it's not like its really that important. Ok, lets get back to this story!  
  
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Kel knew what was ahead. A fight. Probably one of the greatest fights she would participate in.  
  
The largest army in Kel's time was sent to Scanra, and Kel was to lead 10 thousand of them. Kel had barely been a knight five years, and she was commanding ten thousand men. It scared her, almost, to know. Keladry of Mindelan, Knight Commander. It sounded strange. She didn't like it.  
  
Dom explained that it shouldn't be intimidating, because the only reason she got the job was that she was amazing. There was nothing else.  
  
The trek to Scanra was slow. Many of the soldiers did not own horses, and those who did had not geldings or stallions, but ponies and mares. (N/A I don't know if that makes any sense. I don't really know horses.) The Crown supplied as many horses as they could, having bred them for four years for the purpose of a massive army. They had enough war horses for a fair part of Kel's army, but not all. The rest traveled in wagons, meaning that they needed more horses to pull them, or they attempted to set a few among the food. But the men could not be trusted to keep to their rations in there.  
  
Nevertheless, they made it to the Scanran border unscathed. They crossed the river at the safest point and stepped onto enemy land.  
  
The men were scared. Any idiot could see that. Kel had nothing to do with them, nothing to tell them. It was not like commanding fifty or a hundred men. She could not just stand on a box and tell them to cheer up. She needed something bigger. She needed a miracle.  
  
Kel sat in her tent one night, wishing she could lie down. Papers were everywhere. Records, orders, requests, everything she needed to keep her men alive. She was working out how long it would take them to get there when someone entered the tent.  
  
Kel looked up and smiled at Neal. "Hello," she said. "What is it?"  
  
He shrugged. "There's nothing in particular. You haven't said a right word to any of us, Keladry." Kel looked straight at him. He never called her Keladry, not unless he was teasing her. "Is this work too much for you? Because that is why you have officers and second in commands. To pass the work on to."  
  
Kel sighed. "I guess. I'm just worried. Worried that everything won't go as planned."  
  
"Well, of course it won't!" Neal said cheerily. Kel glared at him and he sighed. "Kel, you know as well as me, it never goes as planned. Does that mean that you are any less amazing? As far as I can tell, you are better when you do not know what is coming at you."  
  
Kel smiled. "Thanks Neal. So, do you want to help me with this?"  
  
Neal sighed. "You know, I'm not actually second in command. You weren't listening. He was on to the next person."  
  
Kel smiled. "I know that, I'm not stupid. But I don't know Sir Dessir. He is much older and probably a better knight than me, but that doesn't mean I want to spend all the time working with him. I sent him off hours ago to give the orders to the generals."  
  
Neal laughed. "I lied. Maybe you are ready to do this work all by yourself."  
  
Kel smiled, not looking up from the papers she was reading now. "Nice try. Get to work."  
  
Grumbling, Neal pushed some papers out of the way and sat down, ready to work.  
  
* * * * *  
  
They reached the Desmaurads plateau in less than a month. Kel had expected it to take much longer, with troubles from patrols and such, but there were none. They were all in camps and cities, preparing for their big attack- that would never happen. Because there was almost no snow in Scanra in early October, they moved quickly- and they had horses. Kel vowed never again to travel without horses.  
  
At the plateau, they had their hardest part. They had to wait for all of the armies, the four others, to meet up. Kel could see two in the distance when she climbed a tree, and she wasn't sure, but she thought she might see a third, almost four days travel away.  
  
After they all arrived, they needed to get across the plateau. They could just go straight there, but it was almost a days journey across the plateau, and they would be seen instantly, and Desmaurads would be ready. They could try to sneak to the nearest forest and have very little extra to travel, but they would surely be seen even before they could get out of the forests.  
  
This was what everyone thought the problem was. But Kel knew better. She already had a plan for that. When Scanra woke up at dawn, there would be an army waiting for them.  
  
Numair arrived with the second army, and Kel knew how she could solve her problem. The first morning that every army was there, almost a week later, Kel spoke to the commanders of every army. Because she had been to Desmaurads before, and had now been there the longest, everyone listened to her.  
  
"Alright," she said, "we will leave at sundown in three days. Numair will perform magic to make it the blackest of nights, and we will travel quickly, on horse and foot, no wagons, to the city. It is imperative that we arrive before sunrise. As I said, it will be the blackest of nights, and we shall have no lanterns nor torches. I want all of you to memorize the road, so you can walk it by memory. The front will be composed of two groups: one, to get over the wall, which will be about ten men, all good climbers and either mages with powerful attack magic, or great skill in explosives; and the other, also composed of powerful mages and explosive experts.  
  
These men, in the darkness, will set the explosives at the gate, and get as far away as they can. There is a great risk to the men inside, and I expect them to know that, and to be given the choice to back out if they wish. Hopefully before dawn breaks, but possibly right at, or after, the explosives will go off, blasting a rather large hole in the wall. Before it is blown up, Numair, who will also be inside, will set up similar explosives in three places: the soldiers barracks; the soldiers stables; and the armoury. I have instructed him in where all of these are.  
  
"Normally, I do not like to attack while the enemy is sleeping, but we have no choice. Anyway, all five explosions will go off at once. We will go from there. I want as many men as possible inside the city after that. Under no circumstance shall anyone attack a child or a woman who is not attacking back, is that understood? We do not intend to destroy their race, only stop them from attacking back."  
  
The other commanders and generals nodded.  
  
Kel sighed. "Very well. I will lead one squad of the King's Own into the castle. Since we will have aimed all our attacks at soldiers, they will expect more of that, and while the guard will most definitely go up at the palace, with some expertise, we can get in. none of the rest of that is important. Are there any questions?"  
  
Numair sat up. Kel nodded. "Keladry, I have a problem." He looked her in the eye and continued. "I cannot perform all three magicks myself." Kel raised an eyebrow. "One, easily, two, with difficulty. But it will be easier with a second mage. You see, the explosions give off a great flash to set up, which will be brighter than daylight. It is highly likely that it will arouse soldiers."  
  
Kel sighed. "Very well. I will work something out to give you another mage." She looked around. "Anything else?" No one said anything, and Kel dismissed them. She breathed out as soon as they were all gone. She was so sure that they were all going to question her so much, but she had overreacted. She was glad to be done with that. She just wanted to be done with this war, too.  
  
Everything worked perfectly. Kel was surprised, actually. She was still on the idea Neal had presented, that she was better when unorganized. Nevertheless, everything went accordingly, and Kel found herself leading a squad into the palace.  
  
She put her hand up telling them to come forward. She looked around a corner and, seeing a guard on duty, took out her bow and silently shot him. He fell to the ground with a soft thump. She strung her bow quickly, hearing footsteps of another man running up to him. As soon as he did, she shot him. She signalled to her men that they didn't have time for this. "Let's go." She whispered.  
  
She was glad that they had spies in Scanra. Otherwise, she would never have been able to find her way around the palace. It was a maze of corridors. She racked her brain for the route. Left, right, straight, left, right, straight, right, right, left, up the stairs, through the grand hall, up again, left twice, straight, and then right. Already breathing heavily, Kel saw, just around the corner, great wooden doors, guarded by two men. She could hear voices inside. She looked around. There had to be a way around. She could see, around the corner, beside that door, a tapestry hanging. She had an idea. She turned back down the hall she was in and ran a circle around to the next hall. Sure enough, she could see the tapestry again. But now she was about five feet from the men.  
  
Silently, she snuck up to the first man, slitting his throat with her glaive before he could say anything. The thump roused the other man, who she immediately stabbed. Before her men could make it all the way down the hall to her, she threw the doors open, and saw the king and his generals standing there.  
  
Only, she couldn't tell which was the king. No one man had a crown, a better made robe, any specific marking. They were all armed, and they looked up at her as she stood there. Her men ran up behind her, and they found themselves against almost twenty armed generals.  
  
"Kill them all." Kel said before anything happened. She whipped her glaive out and gutted a man, swinging him around and cutting off another mans sword hand. His scream filled the room.  
  
Five minutes later, all of their enemies were either dead or injured. Kel leaned down to each living one and checked them for anything that would tell her if they were king. None had anything, so she stood up and issued the order again.  
  
The last man screamed before she made contact. "Wait!" He said in common tongue. "I am not the king. He was." He pointed at the corpse of the man next to him.  
  
Kel frowned. "I'm not going to believe you."  
  
He threw up his hands and started speaking quickly in Scanran. "It is the crest!" He said, flailing his arms towards the body. "See, under his breast, his family crest. Underneath it is a crown, don't you see? That marks him as the king."  
  
"Huh." Kel said, leaning over and inspecting the mans bloody tunic. "Imagine that." She felt like she was going to vomit, but she held it back. "Oh well," she said. "Kill 'em."  
  
She stood up and walked toward the door as she heard the man scream in pain as a sword went through him. There was another sound, though. Someone was clapping. Kel looked around. It was none of her squad. Suddenly, a man appeared at the doorway, out of thin air.  
  
Kel stared at him. She knew this man...  
  
"Keladry of Mindelan. Welcome back to Scanra for what, the fourth time? Fifth? This time, you deserve to learn my name." Kel realized why he looked so intimidating. He was floating, bobbing up and down slightly, but a good foot higher than everyone else. "My name," he said, "is Jasson Mecdalen."  
  
Kel's eyes narrowed and her hands began to shake. She did know this man.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Whew, I thought it was really short, but it was still 2000 words...weird.  
  
And don't worry, it will be the first thing you learn next time, I promise. It will come soon.  
  
I broke 200. Go me. Let's break 250, people. I love you! You all rock!  
  
Wake-Robin: The wedding thing? It will take a while. and gosh, I can't wait, because I've got such a good idea...and Fhire, you will see. Be patient, young grasshopper...have I answered this review already? I think I did. Oh well.  
  
Anon: indeed I did. And a long weekend helped, too. And no, I have never seen it. I just couldn't think of a name.  
  
Pinky: you will see. I promise!  
  
Smiles28: of course!  
  
Lady of Masbolle: yay synergy. I rock the synergies. Woo, lots of reviews... yep...Fhire is independent, and there will be more to come on her, probably, I think. I was going to, but now I might not...I don't know yet. I agree with they jumping thing! Butterflies indeed! I actually used to put those quotes at the end of every chapter, but the I ran out for a while, but I want to start again. They make a happy end to a tense/sad chapter.  
  
AJ 4EVA: I'm sorry! I didn't meant to insult you! Wah! ( :( ( :(  
  
Rubber Duck: ha ha ha...mine is an evil laugh. Yes, she did decide to marry him. Hence the receiving of the ring. W/e. it's all good. I actually find them equally hard to write. I have a very small vocabulary, you see, and while I know how to use it well, it's still very small! I often have trouble with the whole 'imagery' thing. And you'll find out what they say later. They haven't discussed it yet.  
  
Lady Helada: *backing away slowly...and run!* Sorry, I haven't read the Alanna books, and Alanna bothers me (I did read one of them, and it bugged me. I think I read it too fast...in a car, in an hour...) so let's play pretend just for me? ( :)  
  
Ellabelle1: yeah. I hate that too. And I do this ALL the time. I come home from school, and rather than watching tv to relax, I write fan fiction. Yeah. I was thinking the exact same thing. There are so many other knights, right? But when I thought about it, Kel is perfect, just because of how much she has done in my story alone. I just decided that she was best for it, even if there were older, more experienced knights around. Besides, my story is about KEL, not random knight #12.  
  
Pinky: thanks!  
  
"It's not what it looks like. Unless it looks like we're stealing your priceless artefact, 'cause that's what we're doing."  
  
"I appreciate your honesty. Not, you know, much."  
  
-unolimbo 


	25. mine last battle

I just want you all to know, I changed something in chapter 10. nothing major, I just took Maggur out of it completely. That's it.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Are you him?" Kel demanded.  
  
Jasson smiled. "Don't be ridiculous, Keladry. I am his chief advisor."  
  
One of Dom's men spat. "and mage. Of course."  
  
Jasson's smile did not even falter. "No. I would not use my powers for my king. I would use them for myself. They are not string enough to help him very much, but they are strong enough to help me." He looked back to Kel. "But I can still finish all of you."  
  
Kel hadn't moved the entire time. Dom looked back and forth between her and Jasson, not understanding why Kel was not attacking him. Kel put her hand up, knowing that he was going to attack soon. "No, Dom. We have to leave."  
  
Dom looked at her. "What are you talking about, Kel?" he cried. Jasson did not move, still smiling.  
  
Just as Dom was about to ask again, Kel adjusted her grip on her glaive. Her hands stopped shaking, and she blinked. She was ready to take him. "Dom, I want your men to get out of here. I will catch up with you in a minute." She said, taking a smalls step forward.  
  
Dom frowned. "If he's that dangerous, you're not staying alone."  
  
Kel circled as Jasson pulled out his sword. "He's not that bad. But very soon this building will be overrun with guards. I don't want to lose an entire squad to that."  
  
Dom opened his mouth to argue, but Kel cut him off. "Go!" She said, and it began. She swung with her glaive, but he blocked it. He stabbed, but Kel too, knocked it out of the way. They kept attacking and defending, faster and faster, until it all became a blur in her eyes.  
  
"Aren't you going to give up?" Jasson asked. He barely looked tired, but Kel could see that he was using a lot of his power to do this.  
  
She grimaced. "Never." She said. He smiled again. All of a sudden his eyes grew wide, and his smile faded from his face. He looked down at his stomach as Kel pushed her glaive further into his stomach. He placed a hand to his wound and lifted it again, looking at it. His fingers were covered in blood.  
  
"Goodbye, Jasson." She said as she pulled out her glaive and collapsed. "I hope you are aware of the fact that I did not torture you as you tortured me."  
  
She pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her glaive. She tossed the stained kerchief on the floor and ran back from where she had come. She had to go quickly. The guards would be here soon, and they would probably be trying to close the gap her men had made. She did not want to be stuck inside.  
  
She ran to the front door and found Dom. He was just making his way past three guards who had tried to intercept him when Kel caught up with him. "Are you all right?" He asked.  
  
Kel nodded. "I'll live to see another day."  
  
They raced back to the hole they had blasted in they city wall. Kel wished she had been able to bring a horse. She had used so much energy, her muscles were burning like there was no tomorrow. But she kept running, running, until she got out. There was a battle raging. It was bigger than anything Kel had ever seen. Every soldier in the area had been called in to fight the Tortall force, and it was still not enough.  
  
Kel looked up. There were archers on the wall, and they were killing more people than any man on the ground. Kel signaled to the nearest person she knew, who happened to be Dom. "Let's go!" She cried. He followed her, and they ran up the remains of the stair to the top of the wall. Kel felt slightly sick to her stomach when she had to jump over a section where the blast had broken the stairs, but she made it to the top all right. The sergeant on the wall turned and his eyes grew wide. Dom attacked him, and Kel went to kill the archers. As soon as she took her first swipe, she felt a searing pain in her left arm. An archer had taken his dagger and sunk it into the soft flesh of her elbow, between the plates of armour.  
  
She did not have time to tend to it, but she could not lift her glaive with both hands. Her left arm was too weak, but she could not wield it with only her right. Kel threw the glaive aside, hoping that it would be there when she returned to it, and pulled out her sword. She would not be as powerful, but she would be able to fight.  
  
The fight lasted all day. Kel spent almost the entire time on the wall. After she finished with the archers, she barely had the energy to hold herself up. She quickly retrieved her glaive and leaned on it for support, swaying dangerously close to the edge of the wall. She had lost a lot of blood. Dom checked; there was only one surviving staircase to the top of the wall. If they kept their eyes open and stayed hidden, they could stay up there. Dom wrapped her wound and made her drink a gulp of his water. She hadn't noticed how thirsty she was; her mouth was dry, her lips cracked.  
  
As much as they agreed someone needed to keep watch, neither Kel nor Dom were able to. Kel was still bleeding rather profusely, and Dom was parched and exhausted. He had a small cut across his forehead and temple, barely above his eye. He was lucky it was not any deeper.  
  
"Are you all right?" Kel asked. Dom nodded. He tried to answer, but his throat was so dry and the battle below so loud that Kel could not hear him.  
  
Around nightfall, Kel knew that she needed to see a healer. She felt herself pass out.  
  
There were voices around her. Quiet voices, but they sounded angry. She knew them. Slowly, Kel cracked her eyes open. There was one person sitting in a chair, facing the other way, with light brown hair (A/N I think that's right...) and one in a cot, sitting up, with jet black hair. That was all Kel could make out.  
  
"There was something very wrong with that!"  
  
"I know. But what do you expect me to do about it?"  
  
"You're the healer, figure it out?"  
  
"Do you see my face? I am exhausted! I could barely help someone get over a headache now."  
  
Kel's eyes slid in and out of focus for a moment. She blinked hard, and they slid into place. Just as she could make out the faces, someone said her name.  
  
"Kel! You're awake!" She could make out Dom grinning at her from the cot across the room. She smiled as Neal spun around in his chair.  
  
He jumped up and helped Dom out of his cot, and then ran over to Kel and sat down beside her. Dom sat down on the foot of her cot, lying across her feet.  
  
"You feel like Jump." She said.  
  
Neal smiled weakly and then grimaced. "It's nice to see you have your humour back, but..."  
  
Kel sat up as much as she could. "What? What is the problem?"  
  
Before Neal could answer, Fhire walked into the tent. "Lady Kel!" She said, running over and giving her a hug. Kel tried to hug her back, but a dull pain in her left arm stopped her.  
  
She looked down at it. There was a white bandage wrapped around her left arm, from the middle of her bicep all the way to below her elbow. It was perfectly clean, but Kel could tell that it was not a pretty wound. She could feel it.  
  
"Your arm will be fine, don't worry." Neal said, smiling weakly. "We weren't the least bit worried about that. We were a bit worried about your whole, though. You lost a lot of blood. It was pretty close. I'm glad that happened so close to the end. It was bleeding for a few hours at least, if not more."  
  
Kel nodded. She had no idea how much time had passed. She didn't even know where she was. "What were you saying about Jump?" She choked out.  
  
Dom and Fhire glanced at each other, and Neal put his hands together. "Kel, he was- he was fighting, and-"  
  
He didn't finish. He didn't know how to explain things like that to people, but he didn't have to. Jump was gone.  
  
"He did amazingly, Kel. you should have seen him. He killed more men than any knight or soldier. He jumped to attack a horse, and a Scanran caught him in the belly."  
  
Kel put her hand to her mouth. She was propping herself up with her injured arm now, but she didn't care. That pain was nothing. "Where is he?" She asked quietly.  
  
"Daine is here, and she and I cleaned him up." Fhire said. "We were going to bury him today if you didn't wake up. He is out back. There was no room in the infirmary tent."  
  
Kel felt tears come to her eyes. This was not right. How could she survive without Jump? He had been there for over ten years, since she was eleven. She tried to stand up, but Neal pushed her back down. "Kel, you can go see him in a few minutes, I promise. I just need to do some checkups on you, see how you are holding up."  
  
Kel nodded. A moment later, Neal finished. A man brought her some food, which she picked at, until Neal threatened to shove it down her throat.  
  
After she was done, she understood why Neal had made her eat. She was ready to get out of the infirmary. She was given strict instructions not to fight or practice at all, but she had no intentions to.  
  
She walked to the back of the infirmary where Jump was. Neal must have told someone that she was awake and could bury him, because he was set just outside, in a small area behind the infirmary, on a table.  
  
Kel gave a little cough when she saw him. Dom walked up behind her, leaning on the wall for support. He took hold of her hand but did not say anything. He had not said a word since his announcement that Kel was awake. "Why did this happen?" Kel asked.  
  
Dom sighed. "Mithros willed it." He said. "I'm not a religious man, but I still believe that the Gods affect the comings and goings of this world. It was Jumps time to go."  
  
Kel nodded. "I want to bury him back home."  
  
Dom sighed. "I don't mean to be crude, Kel, but he will rot."  
  
Kel gulped. "Kel, I'm sorry." Dom said. "I didn't mean..." he paused. "I guess I can understand. I wouldn't want my best friend to be buried in the home of the man who killed him."  
  
Kel took a deep breath and stood a bit straighter. "I am still commander, am I not?" She said. Dom nodded slowly, and Kel responded with a sharp nod that made her head hurt. She ignored it. "Well, than I shall order him to be returned. What I say goes."  
  
Dom didn't argue, though Kel knew she was wrong to do this. She promised herself she would bury him the moment they touched Tortallan soil.  
  
Since Neal had released both of them from the infirmary, they decided to go back to Kel's tent, as it was closest. Kel sat down on her bedroll and thought about everything that had happened, everything she had done. It all came flowing back to her. The dam of her mind had burst and thoughts were pouring all through her, to the end of her fingertips and into the depths of her heart.  
  
"I did a lot." She said.  
  
Dom put his arm around her. "Of course you did." He said. "Kel," he said, after a long silence, "Who was Jasson Mecdalen?"  
  
Kel took a deep breath. "He was one of Maggur's main men. He specialized in torture, and he was a great friend and helper to Maggur. He never did anything of special magnificence to bother us with. he was greedy, most of what he did was to accumulate power and wealth for himself. He did get a lot of information, though." She stopped there.  
  
Dom sighed. "Was he there when they took you?" He asked.  
  
Kel nodded. "He did everything to me." She said. It felt strange. She had never really spoken of the exact details of what Jasson and his men did to her, because at the time that everyone wanted to know, she wasn't really ready to talk about it all. She took a deep breath and started talking. "It started with ice water. They dunked me in it. then they threw me on the floor and kicked me and punched me. They stretched me, they poked me a bit, they dunked me in ice water some more, they kicked me a lot more. That was basically it. I think that Jasson thought that I would be weak, that I would break easily. When I didn't, he got angry, and wanted to prove his point by torturing me the same way until I broke.  
  
"I- I've never killed a man in cold blood before." She said.  
  
Dom kissed her. "It was not in cold blood, Kel. it may feel that way, but deep inside, you know that you did it only because you had to, for the good of Tortall. Just like you killed the men without a fight. You would never do that out of cold blood. You did it because you had to."  
  
Kel leaned against him. "Maybe. But it still scares me."  
  
Dom smiled. "And it would scare everyone else if it didn't."  
  
Kel laughed. "Dom," she said, "how long was I in the infirmary? I figured that we were back here in the woods when we went outside."  
  
Dom smiled. "The battle ended almost two days ago. It will be two days tomorrow morning." He looked out of the door of his tent. "It's getting very late. I'm going to go back to my tent before it's completely dark, so if I fall over, someone will see me."  
  
Kel laughed. "Goodnight." She said.  
  
Dom kissed her. "Goodnight, love." He stood up. "Oh, and Kel," he said, doubled over because of the roof of the tent, "you did good." He grinned at her, and stepped out of the tent.  
  
The next day, they packed their tents up and were ready to go back to Tortall. Kel was glad she had slept through all of the preparations, all she had to do was roll up her tent and get on her horse. She also had to pack Jump away in a box to be put on a wagon. She could barely stand to touch him. His flesh was soft and bloated, his fur all combed perfectly, and all she could see was the tiny end of a long cut across his belly that had been sewn up. She had to get a soldier to place him in the box because she could not bear to touch his wound.  
  
He was going to go home now.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I would just like to say, please don't all of you hate me for the poor wittle puppy-wuppy! I love Jump, but he just wasn't going any where, on the account of him being a dog. And he was really, really old. I'm sorry!  
  
I hate writing battles. That's why they are always so vague. They are really, really difficult for someone who doesn't know that much about swordplay.  
  
Wake-Robin: Thank you! With this chapter, I am hoping to break 250! Yeah, it was supposed to be scary. Kel isn't crazy or anything. But I was kind of thinking of going with that. Thank god I changed it!  
  
Rubber Duck: don't worry, an author always loves to hear it! well, I do, maybe not authors...Fhire was there. And her Ordeal is in the winter. The Ordeals are always at Midwinter. Woot for the memory!  
  
Ellabelle1: thank you! I wanted to do A LOTR fic once...but it's just so concrete at the end, everything gets wrapped up so nicely (and I haven't finished the books...oops!). Yeah, I noticed when I was writing this chapter that I absolutely hated the last one. If I had more energy, I would replace both this one and the one before, but I'm too lazy. Oh well. It's not that bad.  
  
Erkith: I have always thought that. Crazy old world, ain't it?what was the reference again?... I will have to check that.  
  
Kerzikhan: well, they were all answered, I hope!  
  
Ossini: he's Jasson. Who the hell else would he be? Jokes, jokes. Actually, I wasn't even very happy with him... it just took so long to write...!  
  
Lady of Masbolle: I never said anything about them wedding at Midwinter.  
  
Fhire: the artifact one if from Firefly, if you are wondering. It is the best show EVER! Most people know the pirates of the Caribbean one, but the Firefly is more obscure. Watch it. it rocks. Its by Joss Whedon, the dude who did Buffy and Angel. Except this is ten times better. It's a frickin space western! I'll stop the shameless advertising for a random show now...sorry...  
  
AJ 4EVA: I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude! WAHHH forgiveness please!  
  
Rootless Californian: don't worry about it, no worries. Ooh, flabbergasted! I like it! I haven't decided if he is just getting old. I was going to kill him, because he was already old when Kel got him 12 years earlier, but I decided to kill Jump, and I don't want to kill more than one of them too close together, so he will probably get better.  
  
Lady Helada: Actually, I realized that I read three of the four books in a 2 ½ hour drive. Hence the not enjoying it, and the not going into detail. And I started the first Daine book in the same car ride, but it was boring, and I ran out of time. And I've read 10 pages of some random Aly book (tricksters choice: are there any others?) in the Chapters.  
  
Eat paper: I've answered this question. He's bloody Jason, damnit! And that is bloody not as in his name, but as in me swearing.  
  
PsychoLioness13: glad you liked it, yes, Dom is nice again, glad you liked it, crickey indeed, cliffhangers yay guy. There. I answered all of them in one sentence.  
  
Pinky: not really a mage, just with magish powers! Heehee.. magish...  
  
Luhtien: huh? What is this huh you speak of? Is it better explained?  
  
Well, I was keyboard happy! Enjoy, and tell me if it made you cry...I want to know!!!  
  
"I'm an old fashioned gal. I was raised to believe that men dig up the corpses and women have the babies."  
  
Sorry about the crappy quote. I couldn't think of anything, so I read it off the Buffy DVD box.  
  
-unolimbo 


	26. Better to have loved and lost

The trip through Scanra went slowly. They had fewer men, albeit, but many of them were injured, and winter was upon them. Every day was colder than the one before. No one slept in their own tent, sharing the heat with a few other men in cramped space. It helped with the packs and wagons, as well, because they could discard a few tents on the side of the road, lightening all of their loads.  
  
Finally, after a long, cold trip, they arrived at the border of Tortall. Kel looked across the river they had to cross. The land looked the same. The same trees lined the opposite shore, the same rocks fell into the river, and the same water flowed between them.  
  
But as soon as Kel crossed the small bridge into Tortall, she felt it: she was home. They camped just after the crossed the bridge. Kel and a few of her men helped her dig a hole to bury Jump. It took them a long time to dig, because the ground was frozen, and it took a number of men to carry Jump over to the hole.  
  
If they had left him out, he would rot, even in the cold. Kel had a box constructed, and she filled it with ice and placed Jump's small body inside. It was cold enough that the ice did not melt, so Jump's body survived the trip.  
  
Kel watched as they lowered him into the hole. After they had put him in, Kel dismissed them before they replaced the soil. She sent Fhire off to do some work, though Triaxx stayed and sat beside the hole. No matter how much Fhire called her, she could not get her to leave.  
  
Kel stood there for a moment and looked at the plain wood box, and then picked up a shovel and started to cover it.  
  
Dom walked up behind her. "Are you all right?" He said.  
  
Kel nodded. "I will be all right."  
  
Dom smiled and grabbed a shovel. "But you're not now?"  
  
Kel shook her head. "I wasn't a minute ago," she said, as they patted down the soil. "but I think I am now."  
  
Dom put his arm around her and they walked back to their tents. "It's going to get better, I think." He said.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Weeks later, they arrived back in Corus to a waiting Crown. Kel was called in to a meeting that night, after Jon had read the reports they had written. This was one of the things she enjoyed about being an important commander: she did not have to wait for the others to come out of the meeting and only tell her some of it. she was right there.  
  
"Well," Jon said, looking at the reports again, "this looks both good and bad. We've lost more men than we have in years. But, we succeeded. There is no doubt that Scanra is beaten. We killed their king, and anyone who would be capable of becoming king. We ruined their palace, their soldiers barracks, their stables, and their armoury. They have nothing left. They are defeated."  
  
Kel glanced at Raoul, who had been commanding one of the other armies. He smiled at her and nodded. He knew that she would be upset about losing so many men. She had to realize that they had died to save their nation.  
  
After a long and boring meeting consisting of learning things Kel already knew, save a few tidbits, Kel wandered back to her rooms. Dom was waiting for her there.  
  
"I was wondering when you would get back." He said, lying on her bed.  
  
Kel smiled as she closed the door. "How did you get in?"  
  
He grinned. "I went to one of the maids and said, 'excuse me, but can you please let me into my fiancée's room?' and she did."  
  
Kel sat down beside him. "That works. And before you ask, the meeting was boring, and there was almost nothing new. But we did win. That is for sure."  
  
Dom stood up. "Congratulations, Lady Keladry of Mindelan, on your defeat of the mage Jasson Mecdalen, and your defeat of the country of Scanra." He held out his hand for her to shake.  
  
Kel shook her head. 'You are insane," she said, clapping her hand to his and shaking fiercely. "I don't know why I deal with you."  
  
Dom smiled. "Because I'm just so adorable. Anyway," he said, "what exactly were our stats?"  
  
Kel sighed. "We went in with 50,000 men. We destroyed the entire kingdom and killed about 40,000 men, according to what we've got from all the commanders, but I think it was a bit less, because I don't think there were that many soldiers there. We came back with 25,000."  
  
Dom whistled. "25,00 men?" He made the sign against evil on his chest. "That's pretty grim. I didn't realize it was that much."  
  
Kel nodded. "Nor did I. We were the first army in, so when we lost almost 7000 men it was because we were in the front. We were expected to lose that many. But every army lost a few thousand."  
  
Dom nodded. "What are they doing?"  
  
Kel gave a grim smile. "They couldn't collect all of the bodies, of course. The only body we took back with us was Jump's." She choked on the name, and Dom squeezed her hand. She continued. "they're putting up a memorial near the palace, I believe. On one of the lawns. They are going to do it this spring.  
  
"Jon said that this battle was one of the greatest in our history. True, we killed the king last time we went as well, but this time we put the entire city of Desmaurads out of commission. They will not be able to attack for years to come, and Jon doubts they will when they can."  
  
Dom looked at her quizzically. "Why is that?"  
  
Kel grinned. A few hours after we left our camp, a courier was sent to Tortall. He arrived this evening, delivering a letter for the King of Tortall. In it was an official surrender."  
  
Dom kissed her. "Oh, you're good." He said.  
  
* * * * * Days passed slowly. The palace was busy, but it was cramped and noisy. Kel longed for practice after a few days, although Neal tried to persuade her that rest was good. He was still recovering from all the healings of the battle. One night, Kel found herself called to King Jons study during dinner. She quickly rose and walked to his study.  
  
"You wanted to see me, your majesty?" Kel said.  
  
Jon waved his hand towards the chair, and Kel sat. "You are going to ask why I did not invite Sergeant Domitan, but this is not the best of news, and I do not want to deal with the temper of a relative of Sir Nealan."  
  
Kel smiled. It was true, Neal did have a great temper. Dom's was temperament was much calmer, though. But he still liked to voice his opinions.  
  
"I am afraid that I cannot give you a purse for your deeds."  
  
Kel's face fell. She had not been good enough for a purse? What did she have to do?  
  
"I am afraid that we just do not have the money right now. You know better than me, there are thousands of refugees who are still homeless. We are building houses, yes, but we cannot build instantly. It takes time and money, and with winter coming, we are running out of both. As soon as we have the money, we will give you a proper purse.  
  
"In fact," he said, his eyes twinkling, "you will probably get one of the larger purses we can give. Normally a purse would be given for a trek like the one you and Sergeant Domitan took if you were retrieving an object. But no, you also assassinated an enemy king. That would also be worth a purse. And then, of course, you led a rather large army back to Scanra, and killed the king. Again."  
  
Kel laughed. The king looked positively giddy at how much she had done. He stood up and walked around the desk to face her. She too stood up. "Well, Keladry, all I can do right now is offer my sincerest thanks. You are truly one of the best knights in the realm."  
  
Kel bowed. "Thank you, your majesty."  
  
He dismissed her, and she went back to eat her dinner with her friends.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A month and a half later, it was Fhire's turn to shine. It was Midwinter. She had been Kel's squire for four years. It was her Ordeal.  
  
The night before, she and Kel sat in her room talking. "Don't be nervous." Kel said. "You are ready. I know you are. You are a strong fighter, and you have a strong will, and you are a good person. Just remember not to speak during the Ordeal, and not to speak of it afterward."  
  
Fhire nodded. She looked slightly pale, and she was tapping the floor with her foot, looking around. Kel tried to ignore it. "Have you been to the Chamber yet?" Kel asked.  
  
Fhire nodded sheepishly. Kel smiled. "Good. Don't tell me, of course. When you are in it, try to analyze everything. The Chamber will try to prey on your greatest fears, but some of the things it tells you can be important. It often speaks in metaphor, but it also says things just to scare you. Try to figure out what is what."  
  
Fhire nodded again, now tapping her knee with her hand as well. Kel banged down her teacup and stood up. "That's it. you can't stand the wait, and I can't stand watching you. Let's go."  
  
She grabbed the girl by the arm and pulled her down the hall. She knocked on Dom's door. "Come on." She said when he opened it. "Fhire is nervous,"  
  
"No I'm not!"  
  
"And she needs to have some fun." Fhire rolled her eyes, but Dom grinned.  
  
"Sounds delightful." He said. Kel nodded, standing proudly. "One of my better plans, I believe." She turned to Fhire. "Go find your friends. Most of them will be with their knight-masters, I suppose. Bring them back to my rooms, all right?" She looked sternly at Fhire. "If you don't show up, I won't help you tomorrow." She said as Fhire opened her mouth to argue.  
  
She just rolled her eyes and walked down the hall to find her friends. Kel and Dom collected the rest of their friends and convened back at Kel's rooms. A few minutes later, Fhire appeared with about eight boys behind her. She was no longer pale and fidgety. She was grinning.  
  
Fhire introduced Kel to all of her friends. Kel found it amazing that she had not met them before. Raoul knew all of her friends when she was his squire. Of course, they were on procession often, with all of the other knights and their squires. Kel had spent a quarter of Fhire's squiredom in Scanra.  
  
Kel shook hands with all of the boys, who seemed very happy to meet her. A few of them would not leave her alone all night, asking her questions about her work and her travels. She was sure that if she had not had an engagement ring on her finger and Dom had not been standing beside her, scowling at the, they would have attempted more.  
  
There was one young man, though, that Kel could tell was more to Fhire. It was not so big, she could just tell that Fhire looked at him slightly differently, and she said his name more slowly. Kel could see that they weren't much, but they were more than friends. She vowed to ask Fhire about it later.  
  
The night did good for Fhire, Kel could tell. Her squire was more relaxed, she was no longer pale, and she was having a good time.  
  
They both slept late the next day. Fhire was up earlier than Kel, again nervous. Kel opened the door to see the girl pacing her room, Triaxx whimpering on her pillow in the corner.  
  
Kel frowned. "Fhire, you are wasting your energy. And you are upsetting your wolf. She is trying to sleep."  
  
Triaxx lifted her head and barked (A/N: do wolves bark? They're dogs, right? I keep wanting to say meow...but that would just be too funny!) softly in agreement.  
  
Kel invited Fhire back into her room where they had a glaive practice on the cold stone floor. Kel remarked at how skilled Fhire was getting with her blade.  
  
"What was the name of that boy?" She asked.  
  
"What boy?' Fhire asked, concentrating on her steps.  
  
"The one who is courting you." She had space in her pattern to glance over and see Fhire blush.  
  
"Elijah is not courting me." She said sternly.  
  
Kel smiled. "All right. So Elijah is your lover?"  
  
Fhire blushed even more. She was completely red when Kel started laughing. Fhire joined in, and they didn't stop laughing for quite a few minutes, when Neal knocked on the door and told them to shut up and come down for lunch.  
  
Fhire was ready for this, Kel could tell as she watched the girl walk straight towards the room where she was to have her bath. She walked tall, with her back straight and her chin out, looking straight forward. After she had bathed and dressed, Fhire was ready for her advice from the knights involved, Kel, Alanna, and Neal.  
  
"Never give up," said Alanna. "You may think there is nothing left in you, that you can never lift your sword, but if you don't you, or others could be in danger. Remember that you serve the Crown and the realm, and you must always have the energy to protect both."  
  
"Always train all of your abilities." Neal said, looking very proud that he was getting to do this. "Something may have seemed trivial and unimportant in school, but it will come in handy one day in a pinch. Keep your thoughts clear when you are in a battle. Don't be worrying about how your friends are doing on the other side of the line. Concentrate everything you have on what you are doing."  
  
Fhire nodded and turned to Kel. Kel had thought long and hard about what she would say to her squire, and she thought that she had the perfect thing.  
  
"Throw the rulebook out the window. Remember everything, yes, but always be open to new techniques and ideas, even if you have not learned them, or have been told that they were not the best. If it works, do it, and don't worry about the consequences. If you stop to worry about the consequences, you will never get your goal. And most importantly," she said, "follow your heart. It knows what is best for you."  
  
Fhire smiled Kel gave her a hug. "Good luck, Fhire." Kel said quietly. She didn't show it, but inside she was terrified for the young girl. She always was, afraid that the Chamber would make a mistake and kill a good person, or break her friends spirits completely.  
  
She watched as Fhire stepped silently into the Chamber. Neal, standing behind her, put a hand on her shoulder. She felt his magic go through her and the knots in her stomach loosened. She looked back at him and he winked. He could read her even when no one else could.  
  
* * * * *  
  
Fhire made it out alive. She was sweaty and white, her hair sticking to her face and her hands shaking, but she was not injured. That night, she was knighted. Kel stood there, grinning. She had never been so proud of her squire.  
  
Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and Kel stayed mainly at the palace. Neal and Yuki prepared for their wedding, which, now that the war was officially over, could take place without Neal being shipped off to heal stab wounds. Kel and Dom spoke often of their own wedding, but did not make any plans. They had to find a way to have it first. Because of Dom's position in the King's Own, he was not able to marry. He spoke to Raoul often about the rule, but he said there was nothing he could do about it. He even went to the king, asking him for special permission, but King Jon said that, sadly, he could not make exceptions. Dom wanted to marry a knight, which was different. Nevertheless, he wanted to marry. There was nothing they could do.  
  
One day after an unsuccessful attempt to convince the king, Dom came back to Kel's room grumbling. "It's not fair!" He said. "Anyone else in the realm can marry, except me. Why can't they let me?"  
  
Kel didn't say anything. She had been lying on her bed with a book, which she placed softly on the bedside table. She sat up. "Dom," she said, "this is not going to work."  
  
He looked into her eyes. "What do you mean?" he said slowly, dreading Kel's answer.  
  
She sighed. "It seems that the problem is marriage. Every time, that is what stops us from being happy. Maybe it's a sign."  
  
Dom frowned. "That is not true. Everything has gone our way."  
  
Kel looked at him. "Dom, you know that's not true. We were lucky, yes, but now our luck has run out."  
  
He looked at her with pleading eyes. "Kel..."  
  
Kel shook her head. "No, Dom. I still love you, do you know that? With all my heart. But I can't live like this, courting forever."  
  
Dom looked down and slowly, nodded.  
  
Kel smiled weakly. "Thank you. I'm going home for a while, for a few reasons. I have not seen my parents in far too long, and I figure that time apart will give us time to figure ourselves out. Then maybe we can still be friends."  
  
Dom nodded again.  
  
"Don't worry, I will be back for Neal's wedding. I wouldn't miss it for the world."  
  
She stood up. "Fhire offered to come with me, since I'm not supposed to ride alone all the way to Mindelan. She said she wanted to meet her brothers old knight-master, and her own knight-masters family."  
  
Kel put her hand to Dom's face. She was trying to make it lighter, but she couldn't. A tear fell down her cheek. "Dom, I'm sorry. It is for the best."  
  
Dom shook his head and whispered, "no it isn't." he was crying too.  
  
Kel kissed him on the cheek. "Goodbye, Dom."  
  
She picked up the pack beside her bed and walked out the door to meet Fhire by the stables.  
  
"Is everything all right?" Fhire said as Kel walked up to her. Kel nodded and threw her pack onto Peachblossom. She was glad that, with Tobe and Daine's help, he had gotten better from his sickness. She stepped up onto Hoshi and was ready to go. The sparrows flew around her, but she missed having a dog run around her horses feet, snapping at flies.  
  
The trip went quickly, taking only a week, almost a day and a half shorter than they had expected. Ilane and her husband (N/A: what's his name?) did not know that her daughter and her guest were coming, but they greeted them with warmth anyway. Kel was looking forward to spending three weeks relaxing at home. It had been a long time.  
  
She and Fhire did a lot of practice with glaives and swords, as well as a bit of tilting and plenty of archery. It felt strange for Kel to be home again. When they walked down to the village, Kel felt like she didn't know it any more. But when they went for a walk in the forest, Kel realized that it was the same place. She recognized the place where she killed the spindren, she recognized the place where she punched a village boy in the nose for calling her a girl when she was six. Everything was exactly the same, except that the trees were a little bit taller, and there were a few more, both standing and fallen.  
  
Mindelan House was the same. Ilane had kept almost everything the same. The family could not afford new décor to keep up with the fashion, so they stuck with classic Yamani and Tortallan patterns. Kel's room was exactly the same, and she was glad. It was nice to have something familiar to come back to. Even her family was different; her father had aged, his hair streaked with grey; her mother had lines on her face that had not been there before. Her nieces and nephews were growing as well. A few of the younger ones didn't remember her at first. They knew her more from the stories they had heard then from memories.  
  
Her trip was helpful. She never stopped thinking about Dom, but she came to believe herself when she said it had been for the best. Her mother was compassionate, talking to Kel, giving her motherly advice.  
  
But it was not her mother that helped her the most. It was Fhire. It happened on the ride back to Corus, almost four weeks later, on the last day of their trip back. Fhire had finally gotten Kel to explain what had happened the day they left.  
  
"So you still love him?" Fhire asked.  
  
Kel nodded. "With all my heart." She said.  
  
Thy were silent for a few minutes. Kel did not notice, but Fhire was thinking hard. "You know," the younger girl said, "a very smart knight once told me something." She said.  
  
Kel looked up. Fhire continued slowly. "'Most importantly,' she said, 'follow your heart. It knows what is best for you.'" She smiled at Kel.  
  
Something heavy lifted from her heart. Knots untwisted in her stomach, and thoughts untangled themselves in her head. Everything felt lighter, more right. She realized what she had done just as they crested over the hill and caught their first view of Corus.  
  
"My God." She murmured. "How could I have been so wrong?"  
  
Fhire smiled. "Very easily. I'm sure it happens all the time."  
  
Kel looked down at the city. "But, what if..."  
  
Fhire rolled her eyes. "For God's sake, Kel, of course he still loves you!" She sighed, reaching and untying Peachblossom's reins from Kel's saddle. She took them in her hand. "Go on." She said. "I can handle this brute, and he can handle me."  
  
Kel, still slightly shocked with herself, nodded slowly and kicked Hoshi to a gallop. Fifteen minutes later, Kel had a very tired horse, but she was there. She continued to gallop straight to the stables, where she quickly slipped off Hoshi.  
  
"Lady Kel!" Tobe said, running out of the stables.  
  
Kel smiled. "Not now, Tobe. I'll come see you later. Can you take Hoshi?" She asked.  
  
Tobe nodded, taking the reins. "Where is Lady Fhire?"  
  
"She's coming." Was all Kel said, turning to jog up to the palace.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Oh, I am so mean. I bet you all hate me now, don't you? Sorry the trip to Mindelan was so short, but I don't know much about it, and it was not that important.  
  
Rubber Duck: Aw... no crying for me today... oh well. Help on battle scenes would be great! Can you email me? My email is unolimbo@hotmail.com. That way, I can email you back, and you can help me! (and you will get to see the chapters early) thank you thank you thank you!  
  
Rootless Californian: poor Jump indeed. I would never kill both of them off in one shot. That would just be mean.  
  
Wake-Robin: Woo hoo! I got tears! That's what I was aiming for! Don't worry. He didn't rot.  
  
PsychoLioness13: so true. Confusing sentences are always fun. I did know that she was Alanna's daughter, and I did know that it was called Tricksters Choice. I am really too lazy to read it anyway... that's basically it.  
  
Lady Helada: I did know that she was Alanna's daughter, and I did know that it was called Tricksters Choice. I am really too lazy to read it anyway... that's basically it.  
  
Snow*flake: I remember your story. Well, not exactly which one it was, but I remember your name, and I remember reviewing for you. Thanks...I read your story before I even learned how to post a story. I can't just think of something, I have to randomly get ideas. Its kind of annoying. Yay for Dom indeed!  
  
Aznchicki: epilpuge? I think you mean epilogue. But no, I won't write an epilogue, because I'm going to finish everything in the story, of course! And can people please stop asking me if it's over? It will say THE END at the end of the chapter, and it will say FINISHED or COMPLETED in the summary. Ok? Have we all got that straight?  
  
AJ 4EVA: I vaguely understand what you are saying, I think. I got the true to your heart stuff, so thank you.  
  
Queenofdiamonds1: I'm glad you like it. Are you a new reviewer? Not really sure...  
  
Aly: Thanks a lot! I'm glad its to your taste! Thank you very much, I always like to hear that I'm the best. Hee hee, fun. And no, I'm not perfect. But thank you for saying so!  
  
Fhire: huggles indeed. Triaxx was there. And did you notice that I put her in, like, three places in this chapter? I was very proud.  
  
Queenofdiamonds1: hello again. Thanks!  
  
Kerzikhan: of course not. Just the end of the battle.  
  
Soph: ooh, new reviewer, aren't you? Wow, that is humanly impossible to read. Lets use the English language, shall we? I hate AOL speech. It bugs me. Nothing against you, just AOL speech. Anyway, glad you like it.  
  
Well, that's all for now.  
  
"In America, Brazil nuts go for about $15 a pound." Well, those fell off the tree out back. And we don't call them Brazil nuts here." "No? What do you call them?" "We're in Brazil. We call them nuts."  
  
-unolimbo 


	27. than never loved at all

Kel walked quickly to Dom's room and knocked on the door. She felt like she was going to cry. She had to fix this, she had to make it better. Why did she always screw things up?  
  
Dom opened the door and looked surprised. "What are you doing here, Kel? Aren't you supposed to be at home?"  
  
With that Kel burst out in tears. Dom looked like he wanted to close the door on her, but he held it in and let Kel talk.  
  
"Dom, I made a mistake." She cried. "Please, I'm sorry, just want to make things right." Tears were pouring down her face, and she felt like a fool, but she ignored all of those feelings.  
  
Dom sighed and opened the door even more, admitting her in and listening to what she had to say.  
  
Kel took a deep breath and tried to hold back her tears long enough to explain. "I went to get away, and I didn't stop thinking about you, and I was coming back with Fhire and she told me something I had told her. She said 'follow your heart. It knows what's best for you.'" She looked at him pleadingly. "I was wrong to say that it would never work. I was wrong to think that we could never get past marriage. And I'm sorry."  
  
Dom didn't move. "I think you should leave now."  
  
Kel's tears stopped. She nodded and turned. She stepped out the door and closed it slowly. She didn't know, but he could still hear her muffled sobs through the door.  
  
Kel walked back to her rooms just as Fhire arrived in the palace. "Kel! How did it go?" She started to ask, but stopped when Kel lifted her head and looked at her.  
  
Kel sat down in a chair in her room and stayed there. She sat there for a long time, looking out the window. How could she have been so stupid? She barely even heard the door. She assumed it would be Fhire, or maybe Neal, trying to comfort her. She ignored it.  
  
They knocked again. She continued to ignore it.  
  
"Kel?" A voice said. Kel kept looking out the window, engrossed in a hawk circling, looking for prey. The door opened slowly and Dom stepped in.  
  
Kel looked at him in shock. "Have you come to tell me again?" She asked.  
  
Dom shook his head. "I came to say that you were right."  
  
Kel sat up. "What?"  
  
Dom smiled. "I agree. It was stupid of you to say that. But you figured it out, and you apologized. Well, even if you hadn't done it as well as you did, I still would have come. I just needed some time to think about it."  
  
Kel sat there in shock for a minute. Suddenly, she leapt up and hugged him. "Thank you so much."  
  
Dom smiled. "Come on, Kel. You should know better than to think that I would not take you back."  
  
Kel kissed him. "Don't ever let me do that again. If I try, just kick me very hard in the shins, all right?"  
  
Dom smiled. "Can do."  
  
* * * * *  
  
Kel was supposed to get back to Corus on the 21st of April. She returned on the 19th, and thus she had four days before Neal and Yuki's wedding instead of two.  
  
She used it to help Yuki out. The poor Yamani girl was completely stressed out. She was not an organizer, a leader. She was a palace lady. Kel was more than happy to help her two best friends wit their wedding, so she took charge of Yuki's wedding party, helping her organize everything. She ended up with Kel as her maid of honour, and Shinko and a few of her Yamani friends as her bridesmaids. Neal had Dom as his best man.  
  
The wedding came upon them quickly. Kel was there to help Yuki on her big day, with her dress and her hair, and keeping her calm. She stayed back while Lalasa did her dress and Shinko did her hair, but she certainly helped her stay calm. Finally, they were all ready for the wedding.  
  
It went beautifully, as Kel had expected it would. it was a bright sunny day, all the guests arrived happy and sober, and the ceremony went off without a hitch.  
  
Kel congratulated the happy couple afterward, holding back the urge to tell Neal of Irnai's prediction of his daughter.  
  
Neal and Yuki were planning on leaving the next morning for the Yamani Islands for their honeymoon. They were planning on going for a year and a half. Kel would miss them greatly.  
  
Kel retired to her bedroom satisfied and comfortable. The next day, she and Dom approached the king again with the hopes of him agreeing with them.  
  
Jon frowned when they stepped in. "Sergeant Domitan, I have already said no. Do you know what that means?"  
  
Dom nodded. "Yes, your majesty."  
  
Kel sighed. "You majesty, we just want to get married. It won't affect our work, and the other men in the Own will understand circumstances."  
  
Jon shook his head. "It is not just that I don't believe that it is fair. It is a rule. You cannot bend the rules!"  
  
Kel closed her eyes and recollected her thoughts. Jon was not going to relent. They needed something else.  
  
"What if I left the Own?" Dom said.  
  
Kel's eyes shot open. "What? No, Dom..."  
  
King Jon's eyes narrowed. "Sergeant, I do not feel that that is a very fair threat."  
  
Dom shrugged. "I just want to marry her."  
  
Jon frowned. "So you are threatening me? How dare you?"  
  
"Then do something about it!"  
  
Kel shook her head in disbelief. She had never seen anyone but Alanna speak like that to the king.  
  
Jon sighed. "Look, I'll do what I can, all right? I cannot promise anything."  
  
Dom nodded. "Agreed." He put out his hand and Jon shook it reluctantly.  
  
"What on earth was that?" Kel said after they left.  
  
Dom shrugged. "I had to get him to understand."  
  
"No," Kel said sternly. "You could get into a lot of trouble doing that. Don't try it again. And don't you dare try to quit the Own. If you do, I refuse to marry you. I will not let you ruin your life like that."  
  
Dom glared at her, but agreed. He knew she was right. "Fine. I'll be good."  
  
Kel smiled. "You are doing a fine job of replacing Neal while he's gone." She laughed. "He would be proud."  
  
Dom smiled. "Are we ever going to go visit them?"  
  
Kel shrugged. "They are on their honeymoon, Dom, even if it is for over a year. I should like to visit the Yamani Islands myself, and maybe spend some time with them there. But not just for them." Dom raised an eyebrow and Kel smiled. "I did have friends there, you know!"  
  
Dom shrugged. "Maybe." They walked to the stables together, talking and laughing.  
  
"So what are we going to do?" Kel asked finally.  
  
Dom smiled. "Well, we could go for a ride, or we could practice."  
  
Kel shook her head. "That's not what I mean. I mean, what will we do about us? We can't marry, and I said before, I won't stand for being lover for the rest of my life."  
  
Dom nodded. "I understand, Kel. I'll come up with something."  
  
Kel smiled and put a hand to Dom's face. "We will come up with something." She kissed him. "Got that?"  
  
He smiled. "Of course."  
  
* * * * *  
  
After two weeks of speaking with the king, they finally got an answer they wanted to hear. They could get married. It made Kel very nervous. She wanted to be with Dom forever, but she had never really liked the idea of being chained to him. Dom insisted that it was not a chain that held her to him, it was a chain that held them together, so nothing could tear them apart.  
  
Jon agreed that since Kel was a knight and not a court lady, they could do it, but Dom was not allowed to take any time off just for Kel. They both agreed to that. They would not see each other any more or less because they were married. They could live with being apart for the same amount of time.  
  
"When are we going to do this?" Kel asked. "Neal and Yuki will not be back until next autumn, which means a fall wedding or one the next spring, or having it without them. I don't want to not have Neal here, but I also don't want to wait two years."  
  
Dom sighed. "Neal and Yuki waited longer. What was it, five years?"  
  
Kel smiled. "Fine, we'll wait. Be that way." She kissed him. "Why must everything be so difficult?" She said.  
  
Dom smirked. "Because otherwise it would be boring, love."  
  
Kel smiled, but she still had a great knot in her stomach. She was just waiting for the order that would ruin her life.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Wake-Robin: so true... friends are great. I expect that they will get married, because I am a firm believer in happy endings, and I don't want Kel to go back on her word...  
  
Rubber Duck: thank you soo much! They know, I just didn't have them talk about it too much.  
  
Lady-kitty: sweet...someone cried! Sweet...I'm sorry, though...  
  
Ellabelle1: aww, I'm sorry about your dog...that is always very sad. My dog is still alive, but she's getting very old and sick. I don't think it's that this chapter is short, it's that my recent chapters have been really long. I usually try to have 2000 words, approximately. This one was only 1500, but that's because I have writers block on this story.  
  
Rootless Californian: maybe, maybe not... I am so evil!  
  
Kerzikhan: Thanks. It always feels nice to be wrong on something like that. Thanks for the compliment...I just think the battle scenes are a little boring.  
  
Ash Night8: Love it. 'cliffy making people SUCK!' it's good.  
  
Chizzychizchiz: thanks, and I probably won't...  
  
Lady of Masbolle: crying can be good sometimes. They usually get married at Midwinter? That's a crappy time, why would you want to get married in the middle of winter? Silly. Meow would be funny, wouldn't it? Piers, eh? Interesting...and a bad name... oh well.  
  
Secret Agent Angel: maybe they will, maybe they won't! I actually have another story where Kel got pregnant. It's called After the Deed, and it's finished... I'm quite proud of it, actually. You should read it, it's good! Well, so I've been told...  
  
PsychoLioness13: Yep, poor both of them. Everything will work out, but it will take a while. I like this story, because I've built up so much, and I don't want to finish it. I just need some new ideas. No idea how many more, one or two if I never come up with something, maybe ten if I do.  
  
Well, if you didn't read everything, I basically said that I have writers block. I think I have exhausted my resources on this story, and I need some time to come up with new stuff. In the mean time, if you want a K/D unolimbo fix, you can read my other stories, Aftermath, which is very new, and After the Deed, which is finished, and I really like it. I hope I will be getting lots of reviews from you on my other stories!  
  
"So, what's on the agenda? Rousting a nest of venomous retirement plans?"  
  
-unolimbo 


	28. Hope returns

The order that Kel had been waiting for did not come. She had expected to receive an order telling her that she was to go to war, now that she was finally happy, but it did not come.  
  
"It's been six months without a battle." She said. "I can't take it any more!"  
  
Raoul smiled. "Don't worry, you will get used to it. You have never been a knight and not been at war. It will pass."  
  
Neal agreed with him, but Kel knew that he had no idea what he was talking about. He had become a knight the same year as her.  
  
After another week, she was called to the kings study. "Good evening, Keladry." He said, nodding at the chair.  
  
Kel bowed and sat down. "Good evening, your majesty." She said.  
  
He smiled. "You are going back to New Hope." He said.  
  
Kel raised an eyebrow. "Sir?" She said.  
  
He nodded. "I know. It has been a very long time indeed, but I need you to go back. The refugees still have no homes, many of the women have no husbands, and the children no fathers.  
  
"There was a knight commander there, but he was killed by a rabble of bandits on an out trip for supplies. I need a new commander, and you are the best person to do it. I should have put you there in the first place, but I felt that you needed some rest time after the battle." He sighed, and his face looked older than Kel remembered it ever looking. "I made the wrong decision, and a life was lost." He lapsed into silence for a moment.  
  
"Well," he said, looking up, "if you wish to bring a troupe with you, there is room." He shuffled some papers, looking them over. "I see there is room for three knights, including yourself. Oh, and please speak to Raoul of Goldenlake, tell him another squad is needed. I thought it might as well be the Own, seeing as they are the best men in the realm, and they are all here relaxing, one squad can go with you.  
  
"But," he added, "I don't want you just bringing your friends. Bring knights who know how to deal with refugees and soldiers." He stared her in the eye. "You are dismissed." Kel stood up and bowed; then quickly walked out.  
  
She immediately went to find Raoul, who, she found after a very long search, was riding out by the river.  
  
"Raoul," she said, "I need a squad to take to New Hope. I am going back."  
  
He smiled. "I thought you might soon." He said. "Now, let's see, I could give you sergeant Oluf and his squad..."  
  
Kel winced slightly, barely enough for Raoul to notice, but somehow, he did. "Don't worry, I am just teasing you. Would you like me to send sergeant Domitan?"  
  
Kel nodded quickly. "Please?" She said.  
  
He smiled and waved his hand. "Done. Now leave me be! I need some peace and quiet!"  
  
Kel laughed. "Fine, I'm leaving." She said, as he waved to her.  
  
She still had to think of two knights to take with her. If Neal had been there, she would have picked him instantly, but alas, he was on his honeymoon with Yuki. She thought of Fhire. Fhire would be perfect; a new knight, strong willed and powerful, and she had been to New Hope before. Perfect.  
  
Of course, the young female knight agreed, and Kel only needed one more knight. She spent hours thinking about it; who would be the best leader; who would be the most comfortable; who would be the most willing.  
  
"Merric, will you come back?" She asked him that night at dinner. 'I need another knight at New Hope. You know the land, the people, the soldiers. Well, not these specific soldiers, but you know how to deal with them. Please?"  
  
He sighed. "Seriously, how long do you think it will take?" He asked.  
  
Kel shrugged. "A few months, I expect." She said.  
  
Merric sighed. "Fine, Mother, but you owe me. This is strictly a favour to you, because you know that I am the best."  
  
Kel smiled. "Wonderful." She turned to Dom beside her, who was looking between the two. "Your squad is coming as well. Fhire is the other knight, and that is it." She said bluntly.  
  
Dom's face softened. "Goodness gracious, I thought you two were leaving without me!" He laughed.  
  
The next morning, Kel went to see Lord Wyldon, as the king had instructed her. He was in charge of the camps, and Kel had to clear her knights with him. He agreed with her choices, as they were almost exactly the same as the last time; he told her to set off the next morning.  
  
Kel packed her bags that morning after she spoke with him, and spent the rest of the night with Dom.  
  
""I cannot decide if I am glad that I'm going. I want to be fighting and working, but I don't think I want to be back at New Hope." She said. "Too many memories."  
  
Dom laughed. "Kel, you have very few bad memories of New Hope. You have bad memories of getting to and from New Hope."  
  
Kel frowned. "You're not supposed to say that until we're there." She laughed and kissed him.  
  
Kel, Fhire, Merric, and Dom's squad set off at sunrise the next morning. The men looked happy to be going; they too needed some action in their lives. Kel could only think of what Dom had said the night before. It was true, she did seem to have bad luck with the trip to and from her camp. Before New Hope, she left Haven and her entire camp got kidnapped. When she had arrived at New Hope the last time she went, she had been kidnapped herself.  
  
As they had few men, and all of them knew exactly where they were going and what the trail was like, the trip was very quick. Kel was not worried in the least about bandits until they came closer to the border. She knew that there were many Scanrans behind the Tortallan border, hiding in the woods, away from both their own country, and Tortallan soldiers. Some of those, in fact, most of those Scanrans were bandits by trade, and Kel found herself always on guard for them.  
  
Dom tried to assure her that there was nothing to worry about, but he had no argument. He knew perfectly well that they always had to keep an eye out.  
  
One day, as they were getting very close to New Hope, the sparrows came rushing towards Kel, chirping like crazy.  
  
"Enemies!" Kel cried as soon as she saw them. She knew their signals well. They all drew their swords and were ready for action. Suddenly, an arrow shot out of nowhere and hit Dom in the chest. He fell backwards off of his horse as Kel cried out his name.  
  
"Dom!" She screamed.  
  
Merric stopped her. "Kel! Leave him be! We can't help him until we kill them!"  
  
Kel felt herself shaking. She gripped her sword tightly and kept her eyes open for more archers.  
  
"Duck!" Fhire screamed to her. An archer was standing at the edge of the forest, and Kel slid sideways to avoid his arrow. The arrow skimmed against her helmet, making her push herself further down to the ground.  
  
She hit the ground hands first and rolled away from her horse. Bandits were coming straight towards them through the grassy clearing between the road and the forest. About twenty five of them in all. And Kel thirteen uninjured fighters.  
  
She tried to get back onto Peachblossom, but she had rolled too far away, and the bandits were too close now...she had to fight on foot.  
  
She gutted one with her sword, feeling the metal push through layers of leather and cloth and flesh. He collapsed on the grass in front of her.  
  
After killing three more men, Kel found herself getting pushed further and further away from her allies. Because she was the only one on foot now, she had much less power, and she could not hold her position.  
  
It angered her to think that she was basically running away. She slit another man's throat and he collapsed on the ground, unable to scream.  
  
Kel felt a dull pain in her right hand; a large, blond and dirty Scanran bandit had hit her wrist with the broad side of his sword, knocking her own sword out of her hand. She was defenseless.  
  
She checked if she had any other weapons; she had a small throwing axe, but she did not expect it too be much good. She was too close to throw it, and she had so little force that he could dodge any shot, or just cut off her hand.  
  
She was right; he dodged her as she lunged at him with it. She lunged again, and this time her aim was true. A small cut in his leather arm band revealed dripping blood and skin. He growled and threw himself at her. She dropped her axe as his weight pushed her onto the ground. There she was, in the field of tall grasses where none of her friends could see her, with a bloody, dirty Scanran bandit straddling her with his hands around her neck.  
  
"A girl!" He growled. "A girl injured me. This is a disgrace, you will wish you had never done that!" He said, tightening his grip on Kel's throat.  
  
Kel was grateful that he had been so impulsive. A sword she could not fight by hand, but she could get rid of someone choking her. Almost instantly, she threw he hips up and launched him forward: he put his hands out to stop himself, and Kel threw him sideways and elbowed him in the groin. Before he could react, Kel had rolled out from underneath him and grabbed her sword and his. She could not lift them both, so she threw his aside, away from him.  
  
"You won't be better than any woman after this." She said, putting the tip of her sword to his throat. "You weren't anyway." She said, and she killed him.  
  
With that, she ran back to her friends. She scanned the battle before any of the bandits noticed her; there were at least ten of them left fighting, five injured and retreating, and about 10 dead.  
  
She looked for Peachblossom. She saw him in the process of trampling a man to death as he whinnied for Kel. She whistled and his head jerked up. He galloped towards her and she jumped up on him. "Let's go!" She said. "Kill them all." She whispered and patted him quickly on the neck.  
  
A few minutes later, the five or so men who were still alive were retreating; but Merric and Fhire fired arrows at them. Only two made it into the woods.  
  
"We have to go after them." Merric said.  
  
Kel shook her head. "No!" She said quickly. "We have more important things to deal with here. How far are we from New Hope?" She asked quickly.  
  
"We should be there by sundown at the latest." Fhire said. Kel nodded without responding and ran over to where Dom was lying. Two of his men were tending to his wound, but they were not healers. He needed real help.  
  
"We cannot wait until sundown, my lady. He will not make it." One of them said.  
  
Kel grimaced. "Dolstrom!" She said to one of the men. "Take your horse, and take a spare. Ride to New Hope, get the healer, and bring him back on the main road. We will ride with Dom as fast as we can towards New Hope, and meet you on the road as soon as we can. Now go!"  
  
The man nodded, grabbed a flask of water, and mounted his horse. He made the sign against evil on his chest, and rode off down the road.  
  
As fast as they could, the remaining men tied Dom to his horse so that he would not fall off. Kel held his hand as they mounted their own horses. "You're going to be fine." She whispered.  
  
He smiled weakly at her as he swayed slightly. "You'll get me there. I believe in you." He murmured.  
  
Kel smiled and squeezed his hand before she mounted her own horse. It worried her, Dom relying on her so completely, having so much faith in her. She signaled for them to go forward, and, with Dom's horse tied to the surrounding four horses to keep it from running off, they set off at a trot, but soon found that Dom could not handle the bouncing, so they slowed back to a walk.  
  
Kel was having trouble sitting still while she knew that Dom was right behind her, dying. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness all afternoon, and now he was deathly pale, his wet hair plastered to his face, his head lolling forward.  
  
"This is insane." She said to Fhire. "He cannot survive this."  
  
Her former squire sighed. "Kel, I know how you feel about him. but both of us know that you cannot get him there any faster. It should not be long now. At a gallop, Dolstrom should be on his way back to us by now."  
  
Sure enough, in that hour, Dolstrom arrived with the camp healer close behind. "Don't take him off the horse." The healer said, striding over to him. He put his hand to Dom's wound and a burst of bright green flames flew from his hand into Dom. Dom's body jerked terribly, then collapsed again.  
  
"I cannot do any more until we get him to my infirmary. His horse may go faster than a walk now. He won't notice." He said.  
  
Kel nodded. "Do you need a fresh horse?" She said.  
  
He shook his head. "I have barely been riding half an hour." He said. He eyed Kel carefully. "I have heard a great deal about you." He said. "You were the commander before I came here. I assume you want to ride with me and the injured man ahead of the rest?"  
  
Kel nodded and quickly turned back to her men. "Merric, you're in charge. I don't want any dead tired horses when you get back, so keep them at no more than a trot." She said. Merric nodded, and Kel hopped on Hoshi. She trotted over to Peachblossom, who glared at Hoshi.  
  
"Be good." She said. "If I hear of one injury, you will be very hungry tonight." He whinnied at her, and Kel knew that however much he did not want to, he would listen to her words.  
  
The three horses set off at a gallop towards the camp.  
  
"A wonderful start to the trip." Kel muttered to herself as they rode.  
  
I am so sorry it's been so long! Been really busy, and I've had writers block in EVERYTHING!  
  
Wake-Robin: heehee, soon, soon. Or is it?  
  
Smiles28: glad you like it!  
  
Rubber Duck: I wish I had a muse. That would make life so much easier. And I've worked hard for these reviewers, I only got two or three per chapter when I was up to 4, because it was my first TP fiction, so people didn't know me yet, and I had no regulars. You'll get there!  
  
Kelly Masbolle: I do know that now! Well, see, all of my stories start off as they are classified, but they often end up as something else. I mean, it's pretty hard to write 27 chapters and 59766 words of romance. It still is generally based around their romance, though, even if there is some action and other stuff lining the edges. And yes, it was a long honeymoon.  
  
Fhire: that's okay. That's why I stopped writing. Because that chapter was so boring. I knew that I was going to get reviews like yours, and so I took a break. I hope you won't say the same about this chapter (though the beginning was really bad).  
  
Ellabelle1: I will keep that in mind, thanks. It's a good offer, I'm sorry I didn't notice it earlier!  
  
Kerzikhan: thank you for understanding! It's still coming!  
  
Lyre D'Enfers: I dunno, I just like Batman. He rocks. And that's from when I was updating at fairly regular intervals, so technically it was the same time and same place...but you're right, I do need to change it. it's getting old. Wait, didn't I change it already? I can't remember...  
  
Ossini: yay indeed!  
  
Pinky: I don't know what to say... no one has ever been so happy in writing before...  
  
Lady of Masbolle: thanks!  
  
Lady-kitty: ha, I was hoping that people would think he wouldn't take her back. That was exactly the response I wanted!  
  
PsychoLioness13: I was thinking about writing something in the Islands, actually. She will probably be going there, but I need to go through my books and find the information on the Yamanis, because some of it is fairly detailed.  
  
Legofiance: hehe...excellent...  
  
AJ 4EVA: I will, sorry I took so long.  
  
X: yeah...so, I don't really know much about horses. I'm talking out of my ass here. I mean, behind. That's what I said, behind!  
  
Ladyla: I never mentioned anything about kids!  
  
Aznchicki: I won't blame, don't worry. That's what spell check is for, otherwise I would have just as many mistakes! What about an epilogue? Did I mention an epilogue?  
  
Bob: I did not actually create Fhire, she is a character that someone I met on FF asked me to put in. and I don't think I ever mentioned anything about the way she looks, other than the general stuff, did I? if I did, I never thought about it with her name. I just thought: she's a fighting girl, I'll make her look like this... actually, I have noticed how I write plots that could have whole stories revolve around them, and then I cram them into a chapter. I should work on that, shouldn't I?  
  
Kinberly: ha ha, don't worry, I am not one to leave a story without a happy ending...or someone dying. Kidding! I wouldn't do that.  
  
Mage Light: No, I won't. ITS NOT OVER UNTIL I SAY ITS OVER. We've bene over this before. Unless it says COMPLETED or FINISHED in the summary, there's more to come.  
  
Java: Don't worry, it will happen! And I'm sorry I took so long...  
  
Queenofdiamonds1: that's not actually true, the way I see it. that's where the name of the story comes from. If you wait, work hard, and work with the bad things that happen to you, instead of moping over them, you will end up for the better.  
  
Lady Helada: don't worry, I'm alive – almost. Very busy, very sick, very tired, very lazy, and very writers block-y. give it time.  
  
"If you have sex, you will get pregnant, and die! If you have sex, you will get Chlamydia, and die. Now, Chlamydia: K-L-A..."  
  
That was a good movie (Mean Girls, by the way). Very funny.  
  
-unolimbo 


	29. Almost there

Kel fell asleep at Dom's side. He spent the night unconscious in the infirmary, and Kel never left. She tried not to sleep, to keep watch over him, but she could not keep her eyes open, and she went to sleep.  
  
Dom was still unconscious when she woke up. His and was in hers, his breathing was steady, and he was not nearly so pale. The healer walked over to her. "Good morning, my lady. I am Zephael of Nesgard. I am very sorry we were not properly introduced."  
  
Kel rose and bowed her head to the man. "Keladry of Mindelan. You may call me Kel." She said. she looked at the healer. He certainly had the presence of a mage, but he was still young. No more than twenty, he had probably been put at New Hope right out of school. "Where did you learn?" Kel asked.  
  
The young man smiled. "I studied to be a knight. I was only knighted two years ago. But I squired with a knight who was a healer, and I learned most of my skill from him."  
  
Kel smiled back. "I can understand what that is like. My best friend did the same thing."  
  
"Well," Zephael said, "let me check you over."  
  
Kel stood up tall for him to check her over. He put out his hand and put it to Kel's forehead. She closed her eyes. She hated being checked for disease and infection, lice ticks, and little things. But she knew it was important to keep the villagers safe.  
  
"You are just fine." Zephael said with a smile. "A bit dehydrated, though." He passed her a full flask of water, which Kel gulped greedily. "I am sure you are wondering of your friend here?"  
  
Kel said that she was indeed. "He will be fine." Zephael said. "he should wake up sometime this morning. He is just sleeping now. I am not that powerful of a healer, so I cannot guarantee that he will be fine right away. He may have to stay in bed for a day or two, and he definitely should not be exerting himself for a few weeks."  
  
Kel nodded, just glad that he would be fine. She wanted desperately to stay with him, but she had work to do. She stepped out of the building and blinked in the bright sunshine. Before she knew what was happening, she was being knocked over by children screaming her name.  
  
"Hold up, hold up!" She said, regaining her balance by putting a hand on the doorframe of the infirmary. "there we go." She looked down. She recognized all of the faces. Gydo, Meech, and Loesia, as well as many others.  
  
"Goodness, you all look so different!" She said, hugging them all back.  
  
Gydo and Loesia giggled. It had been such a long time since Kel had seen them. Years, it seemed. How many had it truly been? Two, three years? Kel couldn't remember. All she knew was that both of the girls had grown into pretty young teenagers, no matter how much they acted like children when they first saw Kel. they both stepped back and curtsied sloppily at Kel, still giggling.  
  
Kel smiled and bowed at them, then turned to Meech. "I didn't expect you to remember me properly." Kel said.  
  
Meech's eyes went wide open. "Really, Lady Kel! I wasn't that young!" all the girls laughed.  
  
"No, of course you weren't." Kel muttered. She stood up. "I have some work to do right now, but I shall come by later and you can all show me how good you've gotten with your weapons." She said. They all nodded quickly and ran off in the other direction.  
  
Kel was glad to be at a camp where she knew her way around. She could walk straight to her offices without having to wander around aimlessly until someone pointed her in the right direction.  
  
When Kel opened the door and stepped in, she was greeted by familiar faces. Terrec, the clerk, and Fanche were looking up at her. "Good morning, Lady Kel." Fanche said. "Did you have a good trip?"  
  
Kel smiled. "Oh, it was an adventure."  
  
"Everything is ready for you." Terrec said. "Mistress Fanche took control of our little camp after our last commander was killed. Everything is in order for you."  
  
Fanche stood tall and straight. Kel bowed to her. "Thank you, Fanche. You have done us a great deed." She said.  
  
"Don't be silly." She said. "I haven't done you any favours."  
  
Kel smiled. "Well, thank you anyway." She said.  
  
Fanche smiled and left.  
  
Kel worked all day, making sure she still understood how everything worked. Finally, with only a few minutes of break before dinner, Kel raced over to the infirmary to see Dom.  
  
He was awake when she got there, and being able to look in his eyes again made something loosen inside of Kel. she had not realized how worried she had been.  
  
"Morning." Dom whispered when he saw her. Kel grinned and went and held his hand.  
  
"How are you feeling?" She asked.  
  
Dom looked at her, barely moving. "Never been better."  
  
Kel chuckled. "Of course. You know the saying, what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger."  
  
Dom nodded. "I am bound to be the strongest man in the world after this."  
  
Kel squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry I wasn't here." She whispered.  
  
He looked her in the eye. "Kel, I cannot expect you to be here for me every moment of my life. I know you have a job to do. I'm glad you came, though."  
  
Kel smiled. "I'll ask Zephael if he minds if I eat here tonight. I have to go to the mess hall and meet everyone, just make sure they all know I'm here. I won't leave you alone."  
  
Dom thanked her, and Kel went off to the mess hall to meet everyone.  
  
A few people cheered when they saw Kel. every person who had been at New Hope when Kel had left knew that she was a knight they should want as their commander. She had only been a knight for about seven years, but she was already one of the most admired.  
  
Kel stood up on a crate to greet them all. She checked its strength before she stood on it, then hopped up. The hall went quiet. "Good evening." She started. "Well, I am happy to say that everyone looks happier to see me now than they were the first time I was assigned here." A few people laughed. "And with good reason. We are not here, afraid of Scanran attackers, wondering what will become of our realm. We are here as people who need to sow our land to make a living, people who can fend for ourselves when there is a problem, and people who are proud of New Hope, this village that which we have built. I am proud to say that I am commanding here again, and I hope you are all proud to say you live here."0  
  
Everyone cheered when she finished. Kel smiled and bowed to them, then got her food. By the time she was ready to go back to the infirmary, everyone was back to their own conversations.  
  
Kel slipped into the infirmary with two plates of food. Dom accepted his gladly, and Kel helped him sit up so he could eat it. "I talked to Zephael." Kel said. "He said you can move to your own rooms tonight, if you wish."  
  
He grinned. "That would be great."  
  
"You've got your own room beside your squads barrack. It's on the other side of the camp from me."  
  
"Does that bother you?" Dom asked.  
  
Kel shrugged. "I don't want to make a big deal of it with these people. they respect me as a leader, and I think telling them I am engaged might lower that respect."  
  
"However so?" Dom asked.  
  
Kel shrugged. "I don't know, it's just that they've always seen me in a man's position, and seeing me married, that would make them realize that I actually am a girl."  
  
Dom laughed. "Kel, they know you are a girl. And most of these people see you more as a friend then as a commander. I mean, sure, they respect you and do what you tell them, but they are not scared of you. They are not afraid to be themselves, and that's what makes them think of you as a friend. I am sure many of them would be hurt if you did not tell them you were getting married."  
  
Kel smiled. "You are just trying to get into my rooms."  
  
Dom laughed. "Absolutely. But seriously," he added, "why shouldn't I?"  
  
Kel leaned over and gave him a kiss. "That is too true. And besides, there is more than enough room for both of us."  
  
She settled back down in her chair with her dinner.  
  
"So how is the old camp running?" Dom asked.  
  
Kel grinned. "Beautifully. Fanche was in control in between me and the last commander, and she did a wonderful job. Makes me wonder why they need a knight commander in the first place. She tied up all the loose ends, and there was very little for me to have to start."  
  
Dom smiled. "That's good."  
  
Kel nodded. "Yes, but there is still a lot to do." She paused. "Has Zephael told you anything?"  
  
He winced. "Yes. He told me that I would have to stay in bed for a few days and then not exert myself for even longer." He sighed. "I don't mind spending a day or two in bed, but I don't like the idea of not being able to do anything for however long."  
  
Kel put her hand on his shoulder. "You shouldn't worry. Think of it as a break."  
  
He laughed. "I thought I just came off of a break?"  
  
Kel smiled and gave him a kiss. "I should be back in a moment. I just need to drop off our dishes, then we can get you to my rooms. Oh, and I guess I should get someone to bring your things over, should I not?"  
  
Dom grinned. "I was just about to say that."  
  
Kel went back to the mess hall and dropped off her plates. As she was leaving the kitchen, she was intercepted by Loesia and Gydo.  
  
"My Lady, you said you would come and see us train." Gydo said, her arms crossed.  
  
Kel smiled. "I'm sorry, I have been busy. I will come tomorrow, I promise." She kneeled down to them. "Could you do me a favour?" She asked. The girls leaned closer. "Could you go to the barrack that houses the Own and bring me Sergeant Domitan's things? You can put them in my rooms."  
  
The girls nodded and ran off in the other direction. Kel smiled. She was glad that she did not have to ask any of the men to do it for her, as, even though Dom had told her it shouldn't be a problem, she still felt slightly embarrassed about telling them.  
  
By the time she had helped Dom to her rooms, his bags were already there for him. Kel helped him into a cot where he could stay. "I'm going to ask Zephael if I can get a carpenter to make you a bench or something to let you lie outside on."  
  
Dom smiled. "Thank you. I owe you one."  
  
Kel gave him a kiss. "No you don't."  
  
Kel decided that Dom was right, she could not keep an engagement a secret from the people who trusted her. So, the next day, when she was at breakfast and one of the women she was sitting with asked her what she had been doing since they had last seen her, she spoke truthfully.  
  
"I got engaged." She said nonchalantly.  
  
One of the women shrieked. "Lady Kel! Don't tease!" She said.  
  
Kel looked surprised. "Why would I not be telling the truth?"  
  
"It's not what any of us expect from you." Fanche said.  
  
Kel smiled. "I didn't expect it of myself, actually." She said.  
  
"Do you have a ring?" One woman asked.  
  
Kel smiled and held up her hand, and all the woman oohed. Kel felt very strange doing it, like a giddy court lady showing off her jewels. She put her hand down quickly. "I- I have some work to do." She said. "Goodbye."  
  
She stood up, bowed her head to the women, and walked out.  
  
She brought her meal to her rooms where Dom was eating his. "I told them." She said. "It was weird. I felt like some court lady flaunting my jewel. I just excused myself and came here."  
  
Dom smiled. "Thank you."  
  
Kel looked at him, puzzled. "Pardon me?"  
  
"thank you for telling them. I was so sure you wouldn't."  
  
Kel sat down. "Well, you're welcome."  
  
After a few weeks, Dom was back on his feet and ready to fight. Only, no one ever came for them to fight. Months went by with little more than a few bandits thinking they could get some treasure from a small time and finding only death instead.  
  
Finally, after almost a year at New Hope, Neal came home. Kel and Dom wanted to go back to Corus to see him and Yuki, but they were not allowed for a while.  
  
Kel got into the practice of lending more and more of her responsibilities to Fanche and Terrec. She was trying to make it so that they did not need a knight commander, did not need a squad of the Own. She knew that they could all fight in the town, and they had some people who were wonderful leaders, who could do just as good a job as Kel herself, if not better.  
  
It was not that she did not want to stay with them, it was that she thought that they could handle themselves. After weeks of working with Fanche and the others, Kel felt they were ready.  
  
"How would you feel about commanding this camp?" Kel asked Fanche one day.  
  
"Pardon me?" The old woman said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Kel smiled. "I think you have what it takes to command here. You don't need me anymore, you can handle things yourself!"  
  
Fanche sighed. "Very well. If you insist on giving me this control..." She winked, and Kel laughed.  
  
Days later, Kel really had nothing to do. Fanche and the others would come to her if they did not understand something, but it was so very rare, as Fanche was far too proud to ask questions.  
  
Kel busied herself with working with the children for most of the time, and training the adults in proper fighting skills.  
  
"How are they doing?" Fhire asked one day as Kel watched the children practice.  
  
She smiled. "Wonderfully. I didn't expect them to do this well."  
  
Fhire grinned. "You got an answer. It's on your desk."  
  
Kel's eyes widened. "Really?" She asked. Fhire nodded, and Kel excused herself and ran to her rooms. She had sent a letter to Wyldon asking to let Fanche take control of the camp. This would be her answer.  
  
She tore open the letter and read it quickly: she read it again, making sure she had understood everything. He had agreed. Kel had explained how well Fanche had done without her, and she explained how she was sure that the old woman could command the town by herself forever.  
  
Wyldon had agreed with her, and she, Fhire, Merric, and Dom's squad were to return to Corus in one week. Fhire walked in a few minutes after Kel finished the letter.  
  
"Well?" She said.  
  
Kel grinned. "We're going home. It's been almost a year now, hasn't it?"  
  
Fhire jumped. "Lady Kel, that's wonderful!" She squealed. "But I feel I will miss the camp, don't you?" She asked, her face falling.  
  
Kel smiled weakly. "I love this camp, and I love it's people, but I truthfully think they would be better off without us here. They can be more independent without us here, and they can trust themselves more. They should be better without us."  
  
Kel had spent the past few minutes telling herself that, but she had trouble believing it. Deep in her heart, she did not know if she really felt that way, or if she was just pushing herself away from her duties, because that was what it felt like. She felt like she was dropping everyone she had been responsible for just to go home. It made her feel guilty.  
  
She pushed the thoughts away from her as she and Fhire left the room to go and tell their friends the news. She and Dom went for a walk after Fhire and the others went back to work.  
  
"Why did you do it?" Dom asked he hobbled along the path.  
  
Kel looked at him. "Pardon?"  
  
"It's not like you to give this up so easily, especially when it is going so well. Normally, you wouldn't give this camp up, even with strict orders to."  
  
Kel shrugged. "I think the reason I am so quick to give it up is that it is going so well. If nothing had happened that first time I was here, and Wyldon told me to come home, I probably would have."  
  
Dom smiled. "So, you only feel your are responsible when something goes wrong? You would make a great sibling."  
  
Kel punched him. "I'm leaving. I have work to do." She said, and walked back towards the children practicing.  
  
  
  
Well, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed it!!! WAHOO!!!!! I reached 300 reviews...you guys rock, I love you! Let's try to reach 4...  
  
Fhire: Ha, I'm glad...and yes, my story has sucked recently. I think its almost over.  
  
Wake-Robin: Don't worry. He's fine. Always is...  
  
Alannawanabe: Sacrilegious! Kel can't fall in love with anyone else! GAH! Okay, I'm done now. Anyway, it will for sure end with love, don't worry.  
  
AJ 4EVA: Finally, someone who understands me! You rock!  
  
Lady-kitty: I'll get to it, don't worry... I'm just busy right now, I promise!  
  
Dream Wall: Don't worry...as I've said before, when it ends, you'll know.  
  
Queen-of-sapphires: I know exactly what you mean. I just don't usually put new characters in, unless they are very minor, but Fhire was major, so I had some trouble integrating her. And it will end, it's almost over now. Remember how they said they would marry after Neal and Yuki got back?  
  
Rubber Duck: Wow...enthusiasm... and don't worry people, I wouldn't kill Dom! I promise!  
  
Totally Twisted: ooh, new word! 'ardent...' never heard it before! I'll have to use it...  
  
Pinky: then you should have no complaints about this chapter, eh???...  
  
Java: well thanks. That's one of the few truly good reviews I've had recently. Most people have said they like the story but not the latest chapters... so I'm glad to hear it! (though I would be anyway)  
  
Rora: I quote it all the time too, don't worry. And don't joke about that, it's serious!! WAH!!!  
  
PsychoLioness13: haha...I like that sort of there. Cute/  
  
Lady Helada: thanks!  
  
Lotrfreek: haha, don't worry.  
  
Alannamagic: don't worry, people!  
  
"If they ever come up with a swashbuckling School, I think one of the courses should be Laughing, Then Jumping Off Something."  
  
If I repeat a quote or two, I'm sorry. I'm going through them all.  
  
-Unolimbo 


	30. Final days

They left for home seven days later. They were all excited to go home, to see Neal and Yuki, to see their other friends. They were apprehensive, of course, because they knew they would never see the camp of New Hope again.  
  
"I feel bad about it." Dom said.  
  
Kel smiled. "Of course you do. We all do."  
  
They lapsed into silence, and spent most of the trip home in that silence.  
  
Seeing Corus again seemed to erase all the guilt and sorrow the party had. The view of the palace and the great gates just melted away their pain, the wafting smell of the meat markets made their guilt and anguish disappear through their noses.  
  
It's amazing what being home can do to a person.  
  
Not only did the party cheer up, they also sped up. Being so close to Corus just made them want it more. It was like the carrot hanging on a string in front of a mule. The further they traveled towards it, the further away it got.  
  
Fortunately, that was not actually the case. A few hours later, they made it into the city's walls. They rode up to the palace and Kel was part-way through un-tacking Peachblossom when she heard someone running through the stables. She poked her head out of the stall and almost had it knocked off by two people running straight by her in a flurry of browns and reds.  
  
They skidded to a stop directly past her, and one of them grabbed onto a post to turn himself around. "Kel!" He yelled.  
  
Before Kel knew what was happening, Neal and Yuki were flinging themselves on her.  
  
Kel laughed. "It's good to see you too." She said, hugging them back. "Personally, I didn't expect you to be quite this excited to see me."  
  
Yuki grinned at her. "We have a surprise for you! Come on!" She grabbed Kel by the hand.  
  
"Woah, Yuki! I have to finish up here."  
  
Neal frowned. "No you don't." He said. "Tobe!" He yelled.  
  
There was the sound of small feet running towards them. "Yes, Sir Nealan?"  
  
Neal smiled. "Tend to Peachblossom. And to Dom's horse, please." He said. "Speaking of, DOM!" He yelled across the stables.  
  
A few minutes later, Neal and Yuki were dragging Kel and Dom up towards the palace.  
  
"Can you not just tell us what it is?" Kel asked. She wanted to sit down and talk to her friends, not be dragged around the castle by them!  
  
Neal ignored her. She glanced at Dom as she walked, and he shrugged at her. He had no idea where they were going either.  
  
Finally, they came to the door of Neal and Yuki's room. All of a sudden, as Yuki put a finger to her lips and made a shushing sound, Kel knew what was happening. She knew what they had been doing for the year that they were gone, she knew why Yuki was glowing so much, she knew why they were so excited.  
  
And she, too, could not suppress a smile. Yuki quietly opened the door, and Kel gave a quick glance to Dom. She chuckled when she saw that he was still as confused as before. He did not know that Neal and Yuki's first child was laying in the room in front of him.  
  
The look of surprise on Dom's face was priceless, but no one even saw it. Kel was watching as Yuki picked up the now waking child, and Neal was staring adoringly at the two.  
  
"What's her name?" Kel whispered.  
  
"Andrea." Neal whispered back.  
  
Kel smiled, and felt warmth and pride for her friends rush through her. "How old is she?" She tried to calculate it for herself. They had been on their honeymoon for one year, and Kel and Dom had taken another few weeks to get home... so Andrea could be anywhere from new borne to four months. She could tell the child was no longer that fresh...  
  
"Twelve weeks." Neal said proudly. "It just happened so fast.  
  
Kel laughed quietly. "You're lucky it took that long."  
  
Neal blushed. "That's some way to congratulate me." He mumbled.  
  
Kel grinned and turned to face him. "Congratulations, Nealan." She said, her hands on his shoulders. Then she gave him a hug.  
  
Dom put his hand on Neal's shoulder. "Congratulations, sir Meathead. You're officially moving faster than me." He said.  
  
Neal shrugged. "I don't know, you could be catching up."  
  
Kel frowned. "I am going to pretend I didn't hear that." She said, walking over to Yuki, who let her hold the baby. Memories of New Hope came back to her. She remembered when Neal had been late because he was delivering a baby, Irnai had seen that his first daughter would become a knight.  
  
What Irnai had not told Kel, was that Andrea would come very close to rivaling Kel and Alanna in her adventures.  
  
Kel was glad to be back in Corus. Being here meant that her marriage drew near. She and Dom began preparations immediately, but neither of them quite knew how to plan a wedding. Their first plans had too much, their second plans had too little. They invited all the wrong people, then they did not put all the people they wanted on the list. Finally, Yuki and Lalasa swooped in to help them. Lalasa helped Kel organize her wedding dress, of course, but she also helped her with her bridesmaids, and with finding someone to cook food and help her decorate wherever they decided to hold their wedding.  
  
They kept it simple. Kel didn't quite want tow ear a dress. Her argument was that she did not normally wear a dress, and she wanted everyone to see _her_ get married, not some court girl. Lalasa disagreed with her, vying in the direction of tradition. In the end, Kel had one of the most beautiful dresses she had ever worn.  
  
Finally, after three months of preparations, they were ready for the wedding. But they were not quite there yet. They decided to hold the wedding at Mindelan. Kel's parents were not getting any younger, and they did not have the money to travel across the realm comfortably like Dom's parents did. Three weeks before the planned date for their wedding, Kel and Dom traveled to Mindelan. There they stayed, preparing, until the day arrived.  
  
"Where are we going to go on our honeymoon?" Dom asked Kel one day.  
  
She frowned. "I never thought about that. I don't quite know."  
  
Dom smiled. "Well, we cannot go to the Yamani islands. We would just be copying Neal and Yuki.  
  
Kel laughed. "We could go to the Isles, or somewhere across the sea. But it is too long and dangerous to go there."  
  
Dom sighed. "You want to go to the Islands, don't you."  
  
Kel grinned and nodded quickly. "I do."  
  
Dom kissed her. "Then that is where we shall go." Kel knew he wanted to go there, even if he didn't show it. he had always heard her speak of it, and recently, he had heard Neal speak of it more and more.  
  
"We can't see each other tomorrow." Kel said, laying her head on his shoulder.  
  
He sighed. "You're right. We can't. but it seems like a fair trade to me. I cannot wake up with you tomorrow, but I can awaken to the beautiful sight of your face every day for the rest of my life."  
  
Kel smiled. "Now you sound like Neal." She said, kissing him. she had learned not to mind him talking to her like that. In fact, she liked it. she had never quite felt comfortable with talk when she had been with Cleon. But she had grown. She knew real love, and somehow, the speak of it didn't bother her.  
  
Kel couldn't get to sleep that night. She had retired so early, knowing both that she needed her sleep this night, and knowing that she would never get it. She barely woke in time in the morning. Only moments after she opened her eyes, Lalasa knocked on her door. Kel was expecting her.  
  
She rose, rubbing her eyes, and opened the door.  
  
Lalasa was standing there, as expected, grinning at her. "Come on, Lady Kel, you have got to get ready!" She said, coming straight into the room, followed by a few of her worker girls she had brought with her.  
  
The girls sat down in chairs, as Yuki and Fhire came in and joined them. Fhire sat down in another chair, content with just watching, and mocking, Kel.  
  
Finally, after almost three hours of primping, Kel was ready. She looked at herself, and she almost understood why Lalasa had forced her to wear the dress.  
  
Afterwards, Kel couldn't remember much of the service. It all went so quickly, she barely understood it all. All she knew was that she was married to Dom, and she was not quite ready for her next adventure.  
  
The End.  
  
Maybe I'll write more. I realize it was very short, but I had wanted to end it with the wedding, and I didn't quite want to say too much. And by the way, if you all get to 350 reviews on this chapter, I will add at least one more chapter, and I promise you that it will not suck AT ALL. I think that is a fair deal!  
  
Wake-Robin: well, I bet you were disappointed.  
  
Mage Light: I'm sorry. No more, waiting. I promise.  
  
Aliah: haha, don't worry, you still have plenty to read...  
  
Ellabelle1: of course! I wouldn't end a story without tying the knot! That would be so mean!  
  
Rubber Duck: There will most likely be action in my epilogue/extra chapter, if you people review enough!  
  
Tricksters-daughter: honestly, I don't really know. I can never remember either. Whatever it was, I didn't put it in this chapter.  
  
PsychoLioness13: thank you!  
  
Miamouse: glad you like it.  
  
AJ 4EVA: thanks, I'm glad you think I'm the best!  
  
JiffyLube: haha, thanks. I'm very proud to be up to 323 (at this point...lets make it 350!)  
  
Pinky: I'm really sorry it's been so slow, but it's just so nice outside, I've been gardening, (yes, I'm a gardener, it smells nice, and slugs are funny. But I don't like bees.) and exams are in a week, so I've been doing lots of work. I'm sorry!  
  
Rachel132: of course...well, sort of.  
  
Java: I'm not sure if I can respond to someone who uses the word 'l8r.' I will just grin and bear it. well, here is the wedding. I'm sorry there is absolutely no detail, but I've never been to a wedding, I have no idea what one should be like!  
  
Queenofdiamonds1: of course...  
  
LionessRampant83: Woot! Rollercoaster! Yeah, I think I could have made that trip at least a few chapters long. But I couldn't find the second book, which is the big one with her family, and I couldn't remember names, and relations, and terms... and it just got too detailed. I gave up on it too soon.  
  
Rora: Gah!!! I keep asking this! My brain is like a sieve! What does OOC and OC mean??? I'm at a loss here, folks!  
  
Lady Helada: don't worry about it. it happens to the best of us.  
  
Kelly Masbolle: that one was Jack Handy, I believe. He is hilarious. Look him up...actually, don't, because then all my quotes will seem less funny. How's about we pretend I came up with them, eh?  
  
Kim: 4 hundred. I was saying that I hit three hundred, and I wanted to hit four... oh well. Not important. And yes, it is very sad.  
  
Girl hue loves the story: haha, I've done that before. But it always seems to be two in the morning...  
  
Lady Helada: you scare me.  
  
JesuslUver: Yes, it is very nice.  
  
Well, that is my story. As I stated before, I will add a kickass extra chapter is you make it to 350 reviews. And, if all goes well, I will add _another_ when I get to 400!  
  
"One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said. "Disneyland burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down, he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late."  
  
-unolimbo 


	31. Epilogue

Well, here it is. The thirty first chapter, just like I promised. Thank you for all the amazing reviews, I hope that this chapter is up to all your standards!  
  
Kel woke up the next morning completely exhausted. She had had far too much to drink the night before, and her head hurt horribly from it. She slowly pushed herself up and pushed her hair back. She knew she couldn't go practice, she was just too tired, but she didn't want to go back to sleep.  
  
She pushed herself out of bed and slipped on a pair of breeches and a shirt. She glanced back at her bed, where Dom was still snoring. She smiled. It still felt strange to her, being married.  
  
She shook her head painfully. What did she mean, still. She had only been married for a night! Silently, she slipped out the door and walked down the hall to the dining hall. Her stomach was growling uncontrollably, and she needed something to fill it with. There was almost no one there when Kel got in. It was already very late in the morning. Ilane was there, doing her duties as a hostess to all of the wedding guests who stayed the night. She flashed Kel a smile and winked.  
  
Kel smiled back at her mother as she went into the kitchen to get herself something to eat. She was careful with her food, making sure she took small bites, anticipating her guests coming up to her and congratulating her again. A few did, but many left her to her peace. After she ate, Kel reluctantly rose. She had to go and pack.  
  
After much talk of it, Kel and Dom had decided to travel to the Yamani Islands. It was one of the few places in the realm that was not either savage or enemies of Tortall. Besides, Kel had longed to see the islands again.  
  
Dom was still asleep when she got there. She rolled her eyes and walked over to the bed. "Dom." She said, shaking him. "Dom, wake up."  
  
He moaned and rolled over.  
  
Kel laughed and punched him in the shoulder. "Wake up."  
  
Dom rolled over and looked at her. "You know, this marriage is not off to a good start." He said, grinning. "We need to do some serious work." He said, grabbing Kel's wrist and pulling her over.  
  
Kel smiled. "Why did you do that? Now, not only can I not get you out of bed, I can't get myself."  
  
Dom wrapped his arms around her. "It's your honeymoon. You don't have to get up."  
  
Kel smiled. "I do when we have a boat to catch from the Western port in two days."  
  
Dom sat up and frowned at her. "You have a perfect way of ruining everything, do you know that?"  
  
Kel smiled. "I learned from the master. Your cousin has a remarkable talent for it."  
  
Dom kissed her again and stood up. "I guess this means I have to pack something, don't I."  
  
Kel nodded. "I do too. One moment." She went into the hall and stepped into another spare room, where, in the closet, were two large trunks, which she then dragged back to her room. "No traveling packs for us this time." She said. "We aren't even traveling on our horses. It's a carriage all the way for us."  
  
Dom smiled. "You're really excited for this, aren't you?" He asked in all seriousness.  
  
Kel sighed. "It's just been such a long time. For years, the only places I've gotten to away from Corus or home were camps and forts, with maybe an inn along the way. And I think the last time I traveled in a carriage was when I first went to school." She smiled. "And it's been a long time since I've been to the Islands."  
  
Dom smiled and nodded. "Fair enough."  
  
Kel threw a pillow at him. "Just pack your things, will you?" She said. They spent a few hours packing, though Kel took much longer. She spent ages trying to figure out how to pack all her dresses. She was planning on bring quite a few, as she was going to visit with old friends of hers, many of whom were royal.  
  
Finally, they were ready to move onto other things. Their carriage was coming at sunrise the next day, leaving them with the rest of the day and night before they left. For some reason, Kel was exhausted. After they came back from luncheon, she collapsed on the bed.  
  
"I am so glad to be getting a break from all this." She groaned. "Why was getting married to you so stressful?"  
  
Dom smiled and sat down beside her. "You are just full of cracks today, aren't you?"  
  
Kel smiled. "I guess." She rolled over. "I'm going back to sleep."  
  
Dom smiled. "If you get to sleep, then so do I." He leapt onto the bed beside her, and they both fell asleep.  
  
They got into their carriage at sunrise the next morning. Kel actually practiced, as well as bathing and putting on breeches, a shirt, and a tunic.  
  
"I thought you said you were going to wear dresses on this trip." Dom said, coming out of the washroom after his bath.  
  
Kel raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to wear a dress in a carriage?"  
  
He laughed. "Fair enough."  
  
Many of the guests had gone back to Corus the day before, but Yuki and Neal were still there. "Have a wonderful trip." Yuki said, giving Kel a hug.  
  
Kel smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way." She awkwardly picked up Andrea and kissed her. While she loved the young infant, she still was not too good with children. She turned to Neal. "Don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone, okay?" She glanced over at Yuki and smiled. "And make sure he eats his vegetables."  
  
Neal frowned. "Leave me alone."  
  
Kel smiled and hugged him again. "Don't worry, I realize that Yuki knows how to take care of you."  
  
Dom grinned. "Yeah, Meathead, you'll be fine."  
  
Neal scowled at them both. "I'm not going to hold a grudge." He said, holding his head high. "I'm better then that."  
  
Kel smiled at him. "That's very noble of you. Now, we really must be off."  
  
Dom held out his hand for her. Kel raised an eyebrow. She was not use to that. Dom winked at her. "You're still my wife, even if you can get into a carriage yourself."  
  
Kel grinned at him and took his hand.  
  
As soon as she stepped into the carriage, Kel felt the rush. She had spent the past day wondering why she didn't feel any different. Yes, she felt hung over, but she still felt like Sir Keladry of Mindelan, Lady Knight. She didn't feel like Keladry of Masbolle yet. But suddenly, as she stepped into this small carriage, she felt it. She belonged to someone. She was important to someone. She was someone's wife.  
  
And strangely enough, she didn't mind the feeling of belonging to someone. In fact, it felt right. All the time she had wanted to be her own person, she felt like such a hypocrite.  
  
As Dom sat down beside her comfortably she realized that she still was Sir Keladry of Mindelan. She was still Kel. She was still the young girl throwing stones at a spindren, she was still the young woman climbing Balor's Needle to rescue her maid, she was still the fine leader of a refugee camp in the Northern Provinces.  
  
She was just also a wife. It was not something new, it was something to add to the list. Kel looked up at Dom, who smiled at her. He looked very much at ease. They were alone in this carriage, all red velvet and dark wood, and he did not own her. He held her hand. They were equals.  
  
Kel was very quiet through the ride, these thoughts running through her head. When she finally pushed them to the back of her head, Dom had fallen asleep.  
  
They stayed at an inn by the water that night. The smell of salt air wafted into their room, filling their noses, burning their eyes. Kel didn't mind. She loved smelling the salt, hearing the waves, feeling the cool breeze. She had always loved being at the shore, especially since it would be the last true fresh air and space she would get before a cramped boat ride.  
  
But the boat ride was nothing like she remembered it. She remembered being cramped in a small room with her sisters, fighting over the best beds, going out on deck only to see people throwing up any which way. Now, it was open, and while there were many people, they all seemed used to sailing, and the room, a large room, made specially for newlyweds, was larger than all the Mindelan children's rooms combined.  
  
"There's not enough adventure here." Dom said a few days in to the trip, as he paced around the table Kel was sitting at, reading.  
  
She looked up. "Personally, I am very glad to have a break from it all."  
  
Dom spun around and kneeled next to her. "Kel don't you miss it? The rides, the camps, fighting the wars, killing the bandits..."  
  
Kel put her book down. "Dom, at the risk of sounding old, you should know this. You should not be feeling exhilaration when you kill someone. You should be feeling remorse. Besides, you have lived through war. The war on Scanra lasted for years, and I helped finish it. I'm not in any mood to start a new one."  
  
Dom sighed and leaned against the railing. "You're right. I just don't like being cramped on this ship for so long."  
  
Kel smiled. "It's only a few more days. Three, is it not?"  
  
He nodded glumly.  
  
Kel laughed. 'Cheer up. This is your honeymoon."  
  
Dom smiled. "You know, I thought you would be itching for adventure before me."  
  
Kel smiled. "Frankly, so did I." She looked at him. "I think I really needed this break."  
  
The three days passed quickly. Kel spent most of it just sitting with Dom, trying to keep him entertained. She remarked at one point that he was like a young child, always needing attention, and he got on the defensive. It took quite a bit out of Kel to convince him she was joking.  
  
Finally, they could see the islands. "There, right in the middle. Behind that first island is another island, where the palace is." She pointed out towards the islands.  
  
Dom smiled. "I'm glad to have such a wonderful guide." He joked. He turned towards her and kissed her softly. "I love you. And I am sure I will love this trip"  
  
Kel smiled. "We still have a few hours to kill, don't worry." She said, and led him back to their room.  
  
Ooh, naughty Kel! Anyway... I had fun writing this chapter, even though it sucked.  
  
But, on the upside, I had enough fin that I'll be writing a sequel! All new material, now that she's married... I'm just telling you now, I will not be bothering looking up all the proper stuff for the Yamanis. I'm going by memory here.  
  
Wake-Robin: Aren't you happy now?  
  
Dream Wall: of course. Epilogue it is.  
  
Lady-kitty: I was thinking about that, but I decided that I'm not bog on the creating completely new main characters. Especially with a new generation, where new friends and enemies are needed. That just means that it won't really be a TP fic any more, it will just take place in Tortall. I only put in minor/supporting characters. And Cleon disappeared after he alienated all of his friends.  
  
Dream Wall: Hey... double reviewing! No fair!  
  
Lady-kitty: you too? Maybe my comp just says you both did it twice...??  
  
Rubber Duck: yeah, I ahd some trouble trying to work around that, but I decided it was okay like that. Just so you all know, I think my sequel will have storyboards and everything, so that it truly rocks. Except that there is a distinct possibility that I will be too bloody lazy.  
  
Tricksters-daughter: thank you! Yeah, I didn't study either. In fact, that's probably what I should do right now... oh well!  
  
Pinky: that's basically exactly what I am doing.  
  
Finny 4 Me: Ha, don't worry. But thank you for calling it a masterpiece!  
  
JesuslUver: thanks. It's true, I could have. But the question is, did I really want to? I think I already mentioned this. But I don't know much about any weddings, and it really seemed to take too much energy. I always seem to do that. Skip over things that could be really interesting and detailed, and move straight to the action/ending. I just always fear people will be bored, reading the details of her wedding.  
  
AJ 4EVA: thank you!  
  
Jas2008: ha, I do my best for that.  
  
Dreamerdoll: thanks! And yes, I am planning on writing a sequel.  
  
Lady Helada: Thanks. Peace out to you too.  
  
Ellabelle1: Check what I said to Lady-kitty. I'm not going to do a story on Andrea, but if any one would like to take the character and her history from my story, just email me and tell me, and you're welcome to use it. Email me so I can make sure that only one person uses it!  
  
Mage Light: fine... grumble.  
  
Java: thank you for the English. It makes me happy. And I can understand getting bored with it. Thank you for trying.  
  
Ceri: I have always hated that! But I've heard that she's in the tricksters series, and that some stuff might happen, so I REALLY have to read them...or, if anyone has read them already and just wants to tell me what happens, that would be okay too.  
  
LiLiMaLfOy13: thanks.  
  
Lady of Masbolle: of course. Here you are. Ooh... there's another lady of masbolle in town now...and I think she's a better fighter than you...  
  
PsychoLioness13: WHAT A WONDERFUL IDEA! Jokes. That's the plan.  
  
Punky Cobain: I totally agree. I remembered him being a real love interest for her, but then I reread the books, and the only hint it gave was the last line, where Kel said she would like to sit down and have a conversation with him without getting interrupted, and that made her ride faster. Not including the butterfly-in-stomach crap. That doesn't count.  
  
Rachel: See, that's where I heard that they talked about it (and I was flipping through the first one in Indigo, even though I couldn't afford the hard cover)!  
  
Gwen: thanks. I do my best, though I kinda feel this chapter was a bit too girly, though I tried really hard to show all sides of Kel.  
  
Ceri: you know, I can't even remember what happened in chapter 21.  
  
Rachel: of course! I couldn't leave them at loose ends!  
  
Gwen: yep...don't even remember that part...  
  
Ceri: yep...  
  
Rachel: GAH! I don't remember anything!!!!  
  
Java: well, here is the chapter. I mean, I couldn't start writing it until I had that many reviews, so of course it will take a while!  
  
Lady Helada: I think you mean 352. And you people have to give me time to write. I'm not a robot, you know!  
  
Kerzikahn: the best? Thank you! And just so you know, it's spelled style. But good try.  
  
Kelly Masbolle: no. no you can't.  
  
Speaking of which, Rachel, Gwen and Cery sounded very similar in their writing patterns and in the way their reviews were repeated in the same order...come on, fess up, I've given you the chapter anyway!  
  
Alright, just thought I'd mention: though they are really long, you should read the personal notes this time. There's some important stuff in there.  
  
"A good way to threaten somebody is to light a stick of dynamite. Then you call the guy and hold the burning fuse up to the phone. "Hear that?" you say. "That's dynamite, baby.""  
  
Ah Jack Handy. Where would we be without him?  
  
-unolimbo 


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